Definitions for awful
ˈɔ fəlaw·ful

Princeton's WordNet(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

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"

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

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.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

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

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

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 Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

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

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. Staff Sgt. John Nunn:

   The mindframe that you have to be an Olympic athlete parlays easily into entrepreneurship, there’s an awful lot of groundwork that has to be laid and things have to be done and nobody is going to do it but you.

2. Rob Cella:

   A relationship is like a rose, How long it lasts, no one knows Love can erase an awful past, Love can be yours, you'll see at last To feel that love, it makes you sigh, To have it leave, you'd rather die You hope you've found that special rose, 'Cause you love and care for the one you chose.

3. Randall Matthew:

   It could go from, Man, that was close, to something that is really awful.

4. Linda Howell:

   We had a little episode wherethe caretaker broke down crying to my husband about how awful it was that she was having to spend her life taking care of Peggy.

5. Sydney Leathers:

   Pornographers should be fearful of any Republican candidates because historically speaking, Republicans are the ones who come after us with obscenity charges, republicans care an awful lot about the Second Amendment but not enough about the first. Like it or not, porn isn't illegal and this is a First Amendment issue.

Images & Illustrations of awful

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