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awful

[ aw-fuhl ]
/ ˈɔ fəl /
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See synonyms for: awful / awfulness on Thesaurus.com

adjective
extremely bad; unpleasant; ugly: awful paintings; an awful job.
inspiring fear; dreadful; terrible: an awful noise.
solemnly impressive; inspiring awe: the awful majesty of alpine peaks.
full of awe; reverential.
extremely dangerous, risky, injurious, etc.: That was an awful fall she had. He took an awful chance by driving here so fast.
adverb
Informal. very; extremely: He did an awful good job of painting the barn. It's awful hot in here.
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Origin of awful

1200–50; Middle English a(g)heful, aueful;see awe, -ful; replacing Old English egefull dreadful

words often confused with awful

Although some object to any use of awful or awfully in any sense not connected with a feeling of awe, both have been used in other senses for several centuries. Awful and awfully as adverbial intensifiers— awful ( ly ) hot; awful ( ly ) cold —appear in the early 19th century, following much the same pattern as horribly and dreadfully. As an adverb awful is less formal in tone than awfully. In the sense “inspiring awe or fear” awesome has largely replaced awful.

OTHER WORDS FROM awful

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH awful

1. awful , offal2. awful , awesome (see confusables note at the current entry)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use awful in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for awful

awful
/ (ˈɔːfʊl) /

adjective
very bad; unpleasant
archaic inspiring reverence or dread
archaic overcome with awe; reverential
adverb
not standard (intensifier)an awful cold day

Derived forms of awful

awfulness, noun

Word Origin for awful

C13: see awe, -ful
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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