awful

English

Alternative forms

• awfull (archaic)

Etymology

From awe +‎ -ful.

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. Oppressing with fear or horror; appalling, terrible.
2. (now rare) Inspiring awe; filling with profound reverence or respect; profoundly impressive.
   • 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essayes, London: 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) […].

3. Struck or filled with awe.
4. (obsolete) Terror-stricken.
5. Worshipful; reverential; law-abiding.
6. Exceedingly great; usually applied intensively.

   an awful bonnet

   I have learnt an awful amount today.

7. Very bad.

   My socks smell awful.

Derived terms

• awfulness

Synonyms

• See also Wikisaurus:frightening

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)
• 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)

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
• 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 Help:How to check 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, ^{(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: please add this translation if you can

• Finnish: kauhea (fi), hirveä (fi)

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

See also

• awfully

External links

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