Definition of aweful
1. awful [ a ] exceptionally bad or displeasing
Examples:
"atrocious taste"
"abominable workmanship"
"an awful voice"
"dreadful manners"
"a painful performance"
"terrible handwriting"
"an unspeakable odor came sweeping into the room"
(William G. Pollard, Physicist and Christian....)
As the play unfolds , however , the audience is subtly brought into the grip of an awful evil which grows with ominously gathering power and soon engulfs the community .
(Gerald Green, The Heartless Light....)
The comfort was short-lived , yet she found herself returning to the assurance whenever her imagination forced images on her too awful to contemplate without the prop of illusion .
They possessed no outer fortifications , no hard shells of confidence ; they had enough difficulty getting from day to day , let_alone having an awful crime thrust upon them .
Synonyms awful unspeakable terrible dreadful painful abominable atrocious Related Terms bad2. awful [ r ] (informal) used as intensifiers, as in "terribly interesting"
Examples:
"I'm awful sorry"
(Peter Field, Rattlesnake Ridge....)
'' But I still think Penny 's an awful nice girl , Russ `` -
Synonyms terribly awfully awful frightfully Related Terms colloquialism3. awful [ a ] causing fear or dread or terror
Examples:
"the awful war"
"an awful risk"
"dire news"
"a career or vengeance so direful that London was shocked"
"the dread presence of the headmaster"
"a dreaded disease"
"a dreadful storm"
"a fearful howling"
(John Dos Passos, Midcentury....)
It was responsible and sometimes dangerous work because the thieving is awful in the port of New_York .
Synonyms terrible frightening dreadful awful fearful fearsome dreaded dread horrendous horrific direful dire Related Terms alarming4. awful [ a ] inspired by a feeling of fearful wonderment or reverence
Examples:
"awed by the silence"
"awful worshippers with bowed heads"
5. awful [ a ] offensive or even (of persons) malicious
Examples:
"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
6. awful [ a ] inspiring awe or admiration or wonder
Examples:
"New York is an amazing city"
"the Grand Canyon is an awe-inspiring sight"
"the awesome complexity of the universe"
"Westminster Hall's awing majesty, so vast, so high, so silent"
Similar Spelling
awfulawfully
Definition of aweless |
Definition of awesome |
Definition of awestricken |
Definition of awestruck |
Definition of awful |
Definition of awfully |
Definition of awfulness |
Definition of awheel |
Definition of awhile |