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Awful
Definitions
- 1 Very bad.
"The smell of my socks is awful."
- 2 Exceedingly great; usually applied intensively.
"an awful bonnet"
- 3 Causing fear or horror; appalling, terrible. dated
"There was an air of gravity and importance about the garb of the person, and something indescribably odd, I might say awful, in the perfect, stonelike stillness of the figure, that effectually checked the testy comment which had at once risen to the lips of the irritated artist."
- 4 Awe-inspiring; filling with profound reverence or respect; profoundly impressive. archaic
"As I am seen could I but gaze on Thee / Awful in majesty and royal might"
- 5 Struck or filled with awe or reverence. archaic
"She spoke about Mr. Pendennis (a worthy little gentleman enough, but there are others as good as he) with an awful reverence, as if he had been the Pope of Rome on his throne, and she a cardinal kneeling at his feet, and giving him incense."
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- 6 Terror-stricken. obsolete
- 1 causing fear or dread or terror wordnet
- 2 exceptionally bad or displeasing wordnet
- 3 inspiring awe or admiration or wonder wordnet
- 4 offensive or even (of persons) malicious wordnet
- 5 extreme in degree or extent or amount or impact wordnet
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- 6 inspired by a feeling of fearful wonderment or reverence wordnet
- 1 Awfully; dreadfully; terribly. colloquial, not-comparable
"The race was run, and the dog ran "awful"."
- 2 Very, extremely. Canada, US, colloquial, not-comparable
"That's an awful big house."
- 1 used as intensifiers wordnet
- 1 Acronym of affluent white female urban liberal. US, abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, derogatory
"She's AWFUL... Affluent White Female Urban Liberal."
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”.
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”.
Influenced by awful.
See also for "awful"
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