awful
Use Awful in a sentence
fəl 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
1200–50; Middle English a(g)heful, aueful; see awe, -ful; replacing Old English egefull dreadful
Related forms
aw·ful·ness, noun
qua·si-aw·ful, adjective
qua·si-aw·ful·ly, adverb
un·aw·ful, adjective
un·aw·ful·ness, noun
Usage note
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.
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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To awful
Collins
World English Dictionary
awful (ˈɔːfʊl) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —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 | |
| 'awfulness | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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