Definitions for awful
ˈɔ fəlaw·ful

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

1. atrocious, abominable, awful, dreadful, painful, terrible, unspeakable(adj)

   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, terrible(adj)

   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, awful(adj)

   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, awful(adj)

   inspired by a feeling of fearful wonderment or reverence

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

5. frightful, terrible, awful, tremendous(adj)

   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, awing(adverb)

   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, frightfully(adverb)

   used as intensifiers

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

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. awful(Adverb)

   Very, extremely; as, an awful big house.

2. awful(Adjective)

   Oppressing with fear or horror; appalling, terrible.

3. awful(Adjective)

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

4. awful(Adjective)

   Struck or filled with awe.

5. awful(Adjective)

   Terror-stricken.

6. awful(Adjective)

   Worshipful; reverential; law-abiding.

7. awful(Adjective)

   Exceedingly great; usually applied intensively.

8. awful(Adjective)

   Very bad.

   My socks smell awful.

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

1. Awful(adj)

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

2. Awful(adj)

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

3. Awful(adj)

   struck or filled with awe; terror-stricken

4. Awful(adj)

   worshipful; reverential; law-abiding

5. Awful(adj)

   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

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

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. Matt Zeller:

   This bill is awful.

2. New Jersey:

   That bill was awful.

3. Tom Bateman:

   Holy s***, it's awful.

4. Louisiana GOP Rep. Garret Graves:

   It’s just an awful tragedy.

5. The President:

   It's awful, it's really awful.

Images & Illustrations of awful

Popularity rank by frequency of use