Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Awful
Aw′ful
,Adj.
1.
Oppressing with fear or horror; appalling; terrible;
“The hour of Nature’s awful throes.” as, an
. awful
sceneHemans.
2.
Inspiring awe; filling with profound reverence, or with fear and admiration; fitted to inspire reverential fear; profoundly impressive.
Heaven's
awful
Monarch. Milton.
3.
Struck or filled with awe; terror-stricken.
[Obs.]
A weak and
awful
reverence for antiquity. I. Watts.
4.
Worshipful; reverential; law-abiding.
[Obs.]
Thrust from the company of
awful
men. Shakespeare
5.
Frightful; exceedingly bad; great; – applied intensively;
as, an
awful
bonnet; an awful
boaster. [Slang]
Syn. – See
Frightful
. Webster 1828 Edition
Awful
AWFUL
,Adj.
1.
That strikes with awe; that fills with profound reverence; as the awful majesty of Jehovah.2.
That fills with terror and dread; as the awful approach of death.3.
Struck with awe; scrupulous.A weak and awful reverence for antiquity.
Shakespeare uses it for worshipful, inspiring respect by authority or dignity.
Our common people use this word in the sense of frightful, ugly, detestable.
Definition 2024
awful
awful
English
Alternative forms
- awfull (archaic)
Adjective
awful (comparative awfuller or more awful, superlative awfullest or most awful)
- Oppressing with fear or horror; appalling, terrible.
- (now rare) Inspiring awe; filling with profound reverence or respect; profoundly impressive.
- 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essayes, London: Edward Blount, OCLC 946730821, I.56:
- God ought not to be commixed in our actions, but with awful reverence, and an attention full of honour and respect.
- 1819, Lord Byron, Don Juan, II.143:
- And then she stopped, and stood as if in awe / (For sleep is awful) […].
- 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essayes, London: Edward Blount, OCLC 946730821, I.56:
- Struck or filled with awe.
- (obsolete) Terror-stricken.
- Worshipful; reverential; law-abiding.
- Exceedingly great; usually applied intensively.
- an awful bonnet
- I have learnt an awful amount today.
- Very bad.
- My socks smell awful.
Derived terms
Synonyms
- See also Wikisaurus:frightening
Translations
oppressing with fear; appalling; terrible
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inspiring awe
struck or filled with awe
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terror-stricken — see terrorstricken
worshipful; reverential; law-abiding
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exceedingly great
very bad
Adverb
awful (not comparable)
- (colloquial, US, Canada) Very, extremely.
- That's an awful big house.
- She seemed awful nice when I met her yesterday.
Translations
colloquial: very, extremely