Awful: meaning, definitions and examples

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awful

 

[ หˆษ”ห.fษ™l ]

Adjective / Adverb
Oxford 3000
Context #1 | Adjective

feeling or causing great displeasure or unhappiness

Extremely bad or unpleasant; terrible.

Synonyms

abominable, atrocious, dreadful, horrible, terrible

Examples of usage

  • That was an awful thing to say.
  • The weather has been simply awful all week.
  • The food was truly awful.
Context #2 | Adverb

used to emphasize the degree of something unpleasant or severe

Used as a general term of disapproval.

Synonyms

exceedingly, incredibly, terribly, very

Examples of usage

  • He was an awful person to work for.
  • She sings awfully out of tune.

Translations

Translations of the word "awful" in other languages:

๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡น horrรญvel

๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ เคญเคฏเคพเคจเค•

๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช schrecklich

๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฉ mengerikan

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฆ ะถะฐั…ะปะธะฒะธะน

๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฑ okropny

๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต ใฒใฉใ„

๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท horrible

๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ horrible

๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ท korkunรง

๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท ๋”์ฐํ•œ

๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฆ ูุธูŠุน

๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฟ straลกnรฝ

๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฐ straลกnรฝ

๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ ็ณŸ็ณ•็š„

๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฎ grozen

๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ธ hrรฆรฐilegt

๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ฟ า›ะพั€า›ั‹ะฝั‹ัˆั‚ั‹

๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ช แƒกแƒแƒจแƒ˜แƒœแƒ”แƒšแƒ˜

๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฟ dษ™hลŸษ™tli

๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฝ horrible

Etymology

The word 'awful' originated from Middle English 'awful' meaning 'inspiring reverential wonder or fear'. Over time, its meaning shifted to convey something extremely bad or unpleasant. The term has been used in English since the 13th century, evolving to its current usage in modern English.

See also: awfully, awfulness.

Word Frequency Rank

At #5,612 in frequency, this word belongs to advanced vocabulary. It's less common than core vocabulary but important for sophisticated expression.