aw·ful

[aw-fuhl]
adjective
1.
extremely bad; unpleasant; ugly: awful paintings; an awful job.
2.
inspiring fear; dreadful; terrible: an awful noise.
3.
solemnly impressive; inspiring awe: the awful majesty of alpine peaks.
4.
full of awe; reverential.
5.
extremely dangerous, risky, injurious, etc.: That was an awful fall she had. He took an awful chance by driving here so fast.
adverb
6.
Informal. very; extremely: He did an awful good job of painting the barn. It's awful hot in here.
00:10
Awful is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.

Origin:
1200–50; Middle English a(g)heful, aueful; see awe, -ful; replacing Old English egefull dreadful

aw·ful·ness, noun
qua·si-aw·ful, adjective
qua·si-aw·ful·ly, adverb
un·aw·ful, adjective
un·aw·ful·ness, noun

awful, awesome, offal (see usage note at the current entry).


Although some object to any use of awful or awfully in any sense not connected with a feeling of awe, both have been used in other senses for several centuries. Awful and awfully as adverbial intensifiers—awful(ly)hot; awful(ly)cold—appear in the early 19th century, following much the same pattern as horribly anddreadfully. As an adverb awful is less formal in tone than awfully. In the sense “inspiring awe or fear” awesome has largely replaced awful.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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World English Dictionary
awful (ˈɔːfʊl) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
1.  very bad; unpleasant
2.  archaic inspiring reverence or dread
3.  archaic overcome with awe; reverential
 
adv
4.  not standard (intensifier): an awful cold day
 
[C13: see awe, -ful]
 
'awfulness
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

awful
c.1300, agheful, from aghe an earlier form of awe, + -ful. Replaced O.E. egefull. Weakened sense "exceedingly" is from 1818.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
They are so exotic and speak so terribly and wear such awful clothes.
They were an awful idea, and they were counter-productive.
After awful debate performances, politicos say his run is through.
Years later, it also helped them to live with awful things they had seen.
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