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Definition of 'awful'

Adjective

  1. exceptionally bad or displeasing; "atrocious taste"; "abominable workmanship"; "an awful voice"; "dreadful manners"; "a painful performance"; "terrible handwriting"; "an unspeakable odor came sweeping into the room"
       Synonyms: atrocious abominable dreadful painful terrible unspeakable
  2. causing fear or dread or terror; "the awful war"; "an awful risk"; "dire news"; "a career or vengeance so direful that London was shocked"; "the dread presence of the headmaster"; "polio is no longer the dreaded disease it once was"; "a dreadful storm"; "a fearful howling"; "horrendous explosions shook the city"; "a terrible curse"
       Synonyms: dire direful dread dreaded dreadful fearful fearsome frightening horrendous horrific terrible
  3. offensive or even (of persons) malicious; "in a nasty mood"; "a nasty accident"; "a nasty shock"; "a nasty smell"; "a nasty trick to pull"; "Will he say nasty things at my funeral?"- Ezra Pound
       Synonyms: nasty
       Antonyms: nice
  4. inspired by a feeling of fearful wonderment or reverence; "awed by the silence"; "awful worshippers with bowed heads"
       Synonyms: awed
  5. extreme in degree or extent or amount or impact; "in a frightful hurry"; "spent a frightful amount of money"
       Synonyms: frightful terrible tremendous
  6. inspiring awe or admiration or wonder; "New York is an amazing city"; "the Grand Canyon is an awe-inspiring sight"; "the awesome complexity of the universe"; "this sea, whose gently awful stirrings seem to speak of some hidden soul beneath"- Melville; "Westminster Hall's awing majesty, so vast, so high, so silent"
       Synonyms: amazing awe-inspiring awesome awing

Adverb

  1. used as intensifiers; "terribly interesting"; "I'm awful sorry"
       Synonyms: terribly awfully frightfully


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