DEFINITIONS
The
2019 WORD
OF THE YEAR is...

awful

[ aw-fuh l ]
/ ˈɔ fəl /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR awful 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.

Content related to awful

The Magical History Of The Characters’ Names In “Harry Potter”You might be a Harry Potter super-fan, but are you familiar with the fascinating history behind the names of your favorite characters?
READ MORE
Comparatives vs. SuperlativesThe positive form of an adjective or adverb is the basic form listed in a dictionary, e.g.” “red,” “awful” (adjectives); “soon,” “quickly” (adverbs). Adjectives and adverbs can show degrees of quality or amount with the endings -er and -est or with the words more and most or less and least. The comparative form is the greater or lesser degree of the quality named, e.g., “redder,” “more/less awful,” “sooner,” “more/less quickly.” The superlative form is the greatest or least degree of …
READ MORE

Words related to awful

depressing, dreadful, atrocious, horrific, distressing, tough, harrowing, horrible, disgusting, appalling, frightful, ugly, unpleasant, ghastly, dire, horrendous, gruesome, nasty, hideous, shocking

Words nearby awful

aweless, awesome, awesomesauce, awestruck, aweto, awful, awfully, awhato, awheel, awhile, awhirl

Origin of awful

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

OTHER WORDS FROM awful

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH awful

awful awesome offal (see usage note at the current entry)

usage note for 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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for awful

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