Definitions for awful
ˈɔ fəlaw·ful

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. atrocious, abominable, awful, dreadful, painful, terrible, unspeakableadjective

   exceptionally bad or displeasing

   "atrocious taste"; "abominable workmanship"; "an awful voice"; "dreadful manners"; "a painful performance"; "terrible handwriting"; "an unspeakable odor came sweeping into the room"

2. awful, dire, direful, dread(a), dreaded, dreadful, fearful, fearsome, frightening, horrendous, horrific, terribleadjective

   causing fear or dread or terror

   "the awful war"; "an awful risk"; "dire news"; "a career or vengeance so direful that London was shocked"; "the dread presence of the headmaster"; "polio is no longer the dreaded disease it once was"; "a dreadful storm"; "a fearful howling"; "horrendous explosions shook the city"; "a terrible curse"

3. nasty, awfuladjective

   offensive or even (of persons) malicious

   "in a nasty mood"; "a nasty accident"; "a nasty shock"; "a nasty smell"; "a nasty trick to pull"; "Will he say nasty things at my funeral?"- Ezra Pound

4. awed, awfuladjective

   inspired by a feeling of fearful wonderment or reverence

   "awed by the silence"; "awful worshippers with bowed heads"

5. frightful, terrible, awful, tremendousadjective

   extreme in degree or extent or amount or impact

   "in a frightful hurry"; "spent a frightful amount of money"

6. amazing, awe-inspiring, awesome, awful, awingadverb

   inspiring awe or admiration or wonder

   "New York is an amazing city"; "the Grand Canyon is an awe-inspiring sight"; "the awesome complexity of the universe"; "this sea, whose gently awful stirrings seem to speak of some hidden soul beneath"- Melville; "Westminster Hall's awing majesty, so vast, so high, so silent"

7. terribly, awfully, awful, frightfullyadverb

   used as intensifiers

   "terribly interesting"; "I'm awful sorry"

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. awfuladverb

   Very, extremely; as, an awful big house.

2. awfuladjective

   Oppressing with fear or horror; appalling, terrible.

3. awfuladjective

   Inspiring awe; filling with profound reverence or respect; profoundly impressive.

4. awfuladjective

   Struck or filled with awe.

5. awfuladjective

   Terror-stricken.

6. awfuladjective

   Worshipful; reverential; law-abiding.

7. awfuladjective

   Exceedingly great; usually applied intensively.

8. awfuladjective

   Very bad.

   My socks smell awful.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Awfuladjective

   Etymology: from awe and full.

   1. That which strikes with awe, or fills with reverence.

   So awful, that with honour thou may’st love
   Thy mate; who sees, when thou art seen least wise. John Milton, Par. Lost, b. viii. l. 577.

   I approach thee thus, and gaze
   Insatiate; I thus single; nor have fear’d
   Thy awful brow, more awful thus retir’d,
   Fairest resemblance of thy Maker fair! John Milton, Paradise Lost, b. ix.

   2. Worshipful; in authority; invested with dignity. This sense is obsolete.

   Know then, that some of us are gentlemen,
   Such as the fury of ungovern’d youth
   Thrust from the company of awful men. William Shakespeare, Two Gentlemen of Verona.

   3. Struck with awe; timorous; scrupulous. This sense occurs but rarely.

   It is not nature and strict reason, but a weak and awful reverence for antiquity, and the vogue of fallible men. Isaac Watts, Improvement of the Mind.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Awfuladjective

   oppressing with fear or horror; appalling; terrible; as, an awful scene

2. Awfuladjective

   inspiring awe; filling with profound reverence, or with fear and admiration; fitted to inspire reverential fear; profoundly impressive

3. Awfuladjective

   struck or filled with awe; terror-stricken

4. Awfuladjective

   worshipful; reverential; law-abiding

5. Awfuladjective

   frightful; exceedingly bad; great; -- applied intensively; as, an awful bonnet; an awful boaster

FreebaseRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Awful

   "Awful" is the twelfth single, and also third EP, by American alternative rock band Hole, from their third studio album Celebrity Skin. Released in April 1999 by Geffen Records as a CD single, the song's lyrics explore how the media and modern pop culture corrupt young girls and how they should rebel against this. The line "swing low, sweet cherry" in the song is an allusion to the African American spiritual hymn, "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot".

Editors ContributionRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. awful

   very bad, horrible

   This year has been awful.

   
   

   Submitted by anonymous on May 2, 2019  

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'awful' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #4137

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'awful' in Written Corpus Frequency: #873

3. Adjectives Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'awful' in Adjectives Frequency: #431

Anagrams for awful »

1. fulwa

How to pronounce awful?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say awful in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of awful in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of awful in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of awful in a Sentence

1. Belarus Julie Fisher:

   It was a very different world, and there is room for us to do an awful lot with a new executive order. That is an effort that is underway, our goal remains that we are at, we're focused on promoting accountability for those individuals and entities who are responsible for, or are complicit in the regime's violent repression of civil society and for those human rights abuses. So we will continue to bring new authorities and new tools of pressure to bear.

2. Sydney Boggs:

   There was this whole awful storm, then this rainbow.

3. Actress Sonia Manzano:

   When I was raised in the South Bronx as a little girl, I watched an awful lot of television, and it was a big influence on my life, i saw this black and white world, and I used to wonder where I would fit in this world that didn't seem to see me, so I think it's really interesting that I grew up to be sort of what I needed to see on television.

4. Al Franken:

   It really needed to have a process, but I just couldn't stay either, it was awful. There were no good choices.

5. Dolly Partonhas:

   I’d feel like a fool if I went [incognito] somewhere and I looked awful and they recognized me anyhow, i’d rather they just say, ‘Oh, I saw Dolly Parton today,’ than just say, ‘Lord, did you see Dolly Parton? She looked like hell.’ That would be the worse thing for someone like me – a big painted-up plastic doll.

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