awful

English

Alternative forms

• awfull (archaic)

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɔːfʊl/, /ˈɔːfl̩/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔːfʊl
• Homophone: offal (some accents)

Adjective

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

1. Very bad.

   My socks smell awful.

   We saw such an awful film last night that we left the theater before the end.

2. Exceedingly great; usually applied intensively.

   an awful bonnet

   I have learnt an awful amount today.

3. (now dated) Causing fear or horror; appalling, terrible.
   • 1839, J. Sheridan Le Fanu, Schalken the Painter

     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. (now rare) Inspiring awe; filling with profound reverence or respect; profoundly impressive.
   • 1603, John Florio, transl.; Michel de Montaigne, The Essayes, […], printed at London: By Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], OCLC 946730821:
     , I.56:

     God ought not to be commixed in our actions, but with awful reverence, and an attention full of honour and respect.

   • 1819, Lord Byron, Don Juan, II.143:

     And then she stopped, and stood as if in awe / (For sleep is awful) […].

5. (now rare) Struck or filled with awe.
6. (obsolete) Terror-stricken.
7. Worshipful; reverential; law-abiding.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:frightening

Derived terms

• awfulness

Translations

oppressing with fear; appalling; terrible

• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Belarusian: жахлі́вы m (žaxlívy)
• Catalan: horrorós
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Esperanto: aĉa (eo)
• Finnish: kauhea (fi), hirveä (fi), kamala (fi), karmea (fi), kaamea (fi), hirvittävä (fi), kauhistuttava (fi)
• French: terrible (fr), épouvantable (fr), horrible (fr)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: schrecklich (de), furchtbar (de)
• Greek: απαίσιος (el) m (apaísios)
• Irish: uafásach
• Italian: orribile (it)
• Khmer: ឃោរ (km) (kʰoo), ភយង្ករ (km) (pʰea’yʊəŋkɑɑ)

• Lithuanian: baisus m
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Navajo: hóyééʼ
• Norwegian: grusom, forferdelig (no)
• Portuguese: horrível (pt), terrível (pt), medonho (pt), apavorante, temível
• Romanian: oribil (ro), teribil (ro), atroce (ro), îngrozitor (ro)
• Russian: ужа́сный (ru) (užásnyj), устраша́ющий (ru) (ustrašájuščij), ужаса́ющий (ru) (užasájuščij)
• Scottish Gaelic: sgriosail
• Spanish: horrible (es), terrible (es), atroz (es)
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: berbat (tr)
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can
• Welsh: ofnadwy (cy), uthr

inspiring awe

• Catalan: horrorós
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Finnish: hämmästyttävä (fi)

• Greek: τρομερός (el) m (tromerós)
• Portuguese: temível
• Romanian: înfiorător (ro) m, impresionant (ro) m
• Russian: please add this translation if you can

struck or filled with awe

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Finnish: hämmästynyt
• Russian: please add this translation if you can

terror-stricken — see terrorstricken

worshipful; reverential; law-abiding

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Finnish: jumalaapelkäävä (fi) (worshipful, reverential), lainkuuliainen (fi) (law-abiding)
• Russian: please add this translation if you can

exceedingly great

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Finnish: mahtava (fi)

• Greek: τρομερός (el) m (tromerós), φοβερός (el) m (foverós)
• Russian: please add this translation if you can

very bad

• Arabic: فَظِيع‎‎ (faẓīʿ)
• Catalan: horrorós
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Czech: děsný, strašný (cs)

• Finnish: kauhea (fi), hirveä (fi), kamala (fi), karmea (fi), kaamea (fi)
• Greek: απαίσιος (el) m (apaísios), φρικτός (el) m (friktós)
• Malay: teruk
• Portuguese: horrível (pt), terrível (pt), péssimo (pt)
• Russian: please add this translation if you can

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Bulgarian: ^{(please verify)} страшен (bg) (strašen), ^{(please verify)} ужасен (bg) (užasen)
• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} vreselijk (nl)
• Georgian: ^{(please verify)} საშინელი (sašineli)
• German: ^{(please verify)} schrecklich (de) (1), ^{(please verify)} furchtbar (de) (1), ^{(please verify)} ehrfurchtsvoll (2), ^{(please verify)} riesig (de) (6), ^{(please verify)} unglaublich (de) (6)
• Hebrew: ^{(please verify)} איום‎‎ (he) m (ayom), ^{(please verify)} איומה‎‎ f (aiuma)
• Japanese: ^{(please verify)} 大変な (taihen na)
• Latgalian: ^{(please verify)} vuosmeigs m, ^{(please verify)} baimeigs m, ^{(please verify)} buodrys m

• Latvian: ^{(please verify)} šausmīgs m
• Norwegian: ^{(please verify)} forferdelig (no), ^{(please verify)} fryktelig, ^{(please verify)} grusom
• Romanian: ^{(please verify)} oribil (ro), ^{(please verify)} groaznic (ro), ^{(please verify)} îngrozitor (ro), ^{(please verify)} teribil (ro)
• Scots: ^{(please verify)} awfu, ^{(please verify)} bowkin
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} horrible (es), ^{(please verify)} espantoso, ^{(please verify)} terrible (es), ^{(please verify)} tremendo (es)
• Swedish: ^{(please verify)} hemsk (sv)
• Turkish: ^{(please verify)} iğrenç (tr)

Adverb

awful (not comparable)

1. (colloquial, US, Canada) Very, extremely.

   That's an awful big house.

   She seemed awful nice when I met her yesterday.

Translations

colloquial: very, extremely

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 很 (zh) (hěn), 非常 (zh) (fēicháng)

• Finnish: kauhea (fi), hirveä (fi)

• Greek: φοβερά (el) (foverá)
• Russian: please add this translation if you can
• Swedish: väldigt (sv)

See also

• awfully

Further reading

• awful in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• awful in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911