awe
- an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, fear, etc., produced by that which is grand, sublime, extremely powerful, or the like: in awe of God; in awe of great political figures.
- Archaic. power to inspire fear or reverence.
- Obsolete. fear or dread.
- to inspire with awe.
- to influence or restrain by awe.
Origin of awe
Synonyms for awe
Antonyms for awe
Related Words for awing
admiration, dread, apprehension, horror, shock, esteem, astonishment, reverence, terror, consternation, wonderment, wonder, dazzle, intimidate, frighten, alarm, stupefy, impress, startle, astonishExamples from the Web for awing
Historical Examples of awing
His voice was low, in an awing, confident contrast with the headlong emphasis of his movements.
End of the TetherJoseph Conrad
Goold Brown has most disingenuously insinuated that the great success of my Grammar is awing wholly to extrinsic circumstances.
But these creations have an awing beauty; they keep an unattainable distance and height.
The Galaxy, April, 1877Various
Nevertheless he paraded the Tory remainder of it, doubtless with the intention of awing the entire county.
The Little Red FootRobert W. Chambers
The ball seemed for a time as if it were awing forever, and would fall to the ground no more.
The FrontiersmenCharles Egbert Craddock
awe
- overwhelming wonder, admiration, respect, or dread
- archaic power to inspire fear or reverence
- (tr) to inspire with reverence or dread
Word Origin for awe
Word Origin and History for awing
"action of inspiring with awe," 1650s, verbal noun from awe (v.).
awe
c.1300, earlier aghe, c.1200, from a Scandinavian source, e.g. Old Norse agi "fright;" from Proto-Germanic *agiz- (cf. Old English ege "fear," Old High German agiso "fright, terror," Gothic agis "fear, anguish"), from PIE *agh-es- (cf. Greek akhos "pain, grief"), from root *agh- "to be depressed, be afraid" (see ail). Current sense of "dread mixed with veneration" is due to biblical use with reference to the Supreme Being. Awe-inspiring is recorded from 1814.