awful

English Online Dictionary. What means awful‎? What does awful mean?

English

Alternative forms

• awfull (archaic)
• aweful, awefull (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English agheful, awfull, auful, aȝefull, equivalent to awe +‎ -ful. Compare Old English eġeful, eġefull (“terrifying; awful”).

The “very bad” sense is a pejorative semantic shift from the original sense of “awe-inspiring”.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɔːfʊl/, /ˈɔːfəl/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɔfəl/
• (cot–caught merger) IPA^(key): /ˈɑfəl/
• Rhymes: -ɔːfʊl
• Homophone: offal (cot–caught merger)
• Hyphenation: aw‧ful

Adjective

awful (comparative awfuller or more awful, superlative awfullest or most awful)

1. Very bad.

2. Exceedingly great; usually applied intensively.

   an awful bonnet

   I have learnt an awful amount today.
3. (dated) Causing fear or horror; appalling, terrible.
4. (now rare) Awe-inspiring; filling with profound reverence or respect; profoundly impressive.

   Alternative forms: awe-ful, awe-full
5. (now rare) Struck or filled with awe or reverence.
6. (obsolete) Terror-stricken.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:frightening

Derived terms

Translations

Adverb

awful (not comparable) (colloquial)

1. Awfully; dreadfully; terribly.
2. (US, Canada) Very, extremely.

Translations

Further reading

• “awful”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “awful”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.