awful

English

Alternative forms

• awfull (archaic), aweful (obsolete), awefull (obsolete)

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɔːfʊl/, /ˈɔːfəl/
• IPA^(key): /ˈɔfəl/
• IPA^(key): /ˈɑfəl/

• 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.
   • Template:RQ:Florio Montaigne Essayes
   • 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
• awfully

Translations

very bad

• Arabic: فَظِيع (faẓīʕ)
• Bulgarian: ужасен (bg) (užasen), отвратителен (bg) (otvratitelen)
• Catalan: horrorós
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 壞／坏 (zh) (huài), 坏 (zh) (huài), 糟糕 (zh) (zāogāo)

• Czech: děsný (cs), strašný (cs)
• Finnish: kauhea (fi), hirveä (fi), kamala (fi), karmea (fi), kaamea (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Greek: απαίσιος (el) m (apaísios), φρικτός (el) m (friktós)
• Italian: pessimo (it) m, pessima (it) f, terribile (it), orribile (it)
• Malay: teruk
• Portuguese: horrível (pt), terrível (pt), péssimo (pt)
• Russian: please add this translation if you can
• Spanish: please add this translation if you can

exceedingly great

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 非常 (zh) (fēicháng) (no equivalent exists; lit. "extremely")

• Finnish: mahtava (fi)
• Greek: τρομερός (el) m (tromerós), φοβερός (el) m (foverós)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: impressionante (it)
• Russian: please add this translation if you can

causing fear; appalling; terrible

• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Belarusian: жахлі́вы m (žaxlívy)
• Bulgarian: страшен (bg) (strašen), ужасен (bg) (užasen)
• Catalan: horrorós
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 厲害／厉害 (zh) (lìhài), 厉害 (zh) (lìhài), 可怕 (zh) (kěpà)

• Dutch: verschrikkelijk (nl), vreselijk (nl), afgrijselijk (nl)
• 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)
• Hungarian: szörnyű (hu), rémes (hu), borzalmas (hu), borzasztó (hu), rettenetes (hu)
• Interlingue: , ,
• Irish: uafásach
• Italian: orribile (it)
• Khmer: ឃោរ (km) (kʰoo), ភយង្ករ (km) (pʰea’yʊəŋkɑɑ)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Latin: dīrus
• 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 (pt)
• 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: khủng khiếp (vi)
• Welsh: ofnadwy (cy), uthr

inspiring awe

• Bulgarian: внушаващ страх (vnušavašt strah)
• Catalan: horrorós
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 令人驚嘆的／令人惊叹的, 令人惊叹的 (lìng rén jīngtàn de)

• Finnish: hämmästyttävä (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Greek: τρομερός (el) m (tromerós)
• Portuguese: temível (pt)
• 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

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• 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

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Finnish: jumalaapelkäävä (fi) (worshipful, reverential), lainkuuliainen (fi) (law-abiding)
• Russian: please add this translation if you can

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• 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
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• 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.

   He was blubbering away something awful.

Translations

colloquial: very, extremely

• Bulgarian: ужасно (bg) (užasno) (разг.)
• Chinese:

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

• Dutch: verschrikkelijk (nl), vreselijk (nl), ontzettend (nl), onmeunig (dialectal)
• Finnish: kauhea (fi), hirveä (fi)
• Greek: φοβερά (el) (foverá)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: tremendamente (it), spaventosamente (it), terribilmente (it)
• Russian: please add this translation if you can
• Swedish: väldigt (sv)

See also

• awfully

Further reading

• “awful”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “awful”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.