What does "awe" mean?
A feeling of fear and reverence.
Awe
/ɔ/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A feeling of fear and reverence.
- Grammar: awe is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: reverence, abject fear, admiration, adoration.
- Useful contrasts: bore, commonplace, contempt.
- Usage evidence: They watched the solemn ceremony in the church with awe.
How to use "awe"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "awe" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "awe" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "awe" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "awe" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "awe" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "reverence" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "awe", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A feeling of fear and reverence. uncountable, usually
"Last spring, the periodical cicadas emerged across eastern North America. Their vast numbers and short above-ground life spans inspired awe and irritation in humans—and made for good meals for birds and small mammals."
- 2 A bucket (blade) attached to water wheels. obsolete
- 3 an overwhelming feeling of wonder or admiration wordnet
- 4 A feeling of amazement. uncountable, usually
"For several minutes no one spoke; I think they must each have been as overcome by awe as was I. All about us was a flora and fauna as strange and wonderful to us as might have been those upon a distant planet had we suddenly been miraculously transported through ether to an unknown world."
- 5 a feeling of profound respect for someone or something wordnet
Show 1 more definition
- 6 Power to inspire awe. archaic, uncountable, usually
Verb
- 1 To inspire fear and reverence in. transitive
"That large room had always awed Ivor: even as a child he had never wanted to play in it, for all that it was so limitless, the parquet floor so vast and shiny and unencumbered, the windows so wide and light with the fairy expanse of Kensington Gardens."
- 2 inspire awe in wordnet
- 3 To control by inspiring dread. transitive
"While a sense of outrage is the only rational response to atrocity, if that outrage is maintained at too high a level over too long a time it can generate feelings of impotence, as we permit ourselves to be awed by this irrational act of violence."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname. countable, uncountable
- 2 The station code of AsiaWorld–Expo in Hong Kong.
- 3 A short river between Loch Awe and Loch Etive, Argyll and Bute council area, Scotland; in full, the River Awe. countable, uncountable
"For nearly four miles, between Loch Awe and Taynuilt, the Callander and Oban section of the L.M.S.R. runs through the Pass of Brander, on the lower slopes of Ben Cruachan, beside the swift-flowing River Awe."
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"They watched the solemn ceremony in the church with awe."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "awe"?
Common synonyms include: reverence, abject fear, admiration, adoration, affright, alarm.
How do you use "awe" in a sentence?
They watched the solemn ceremony in the church with awe.
How do you pronounce "awe"?
Pronounced /ɔ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English aw, awe, agh, awȝe, borrowed from Old Norse agi, from Proto-Germanic *agaz (“terror, dread”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂egʰ- (“to be upset, afraid”). Displaced native Middle English eye, eyȝe, ayȝe, eȝȝe, from Old English ege, æge (“fear, terror, dread”), from the same Proto-Germanic root.
Etymology 2
From French auve.