Awfulness

noun

noun ·3 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The state or quality of being awful. uncountable, usually

    "Out came old Teenie, buzzing mad as a whole nest of wasps. Muttered awfulnesses came from her great padded bonnet."

  2. 2
    a quality of extreme unpleasantness wordnet
  3. 3
    The quality of striking with awe, or with reverence uncountable, usually

    "[…] the knocking at the gate, which succeeds to the murder of Duncan, produced to my feelings an effect for which I could never account: the effect was—that it reflected back upon the murder a peculiar awfulness and a depth of solemnity […]"

  4. 4
    The state of being struck with awe; a spirit of solemnity; profound reverence. uncountable, usually

Synonyms

All synonyms
dreadfulnessatrocitybasenessbestialitybrutalitycriminality

Example

More examples

"Out came old Teenie, buzzing mad as a whole nest of wasps. Muttered awfulnesses came from her great padded bonnet."

Etymology

From Middle English aghfulnesse, equivalent to awful + -ness.

More for "awfulness"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.