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awful

/ˈɔːfəl/adjective, adverb2 syllables

Awful means: causing fear or dread or terror.

Synonyms for awful38

adjective, as in causing fear or dread or terror

dire, direful, dread, dreaded, dreadful, fearful, fearsome, frightening, horrendous, horrific, terrible, alarming

adjective, as in offensive or even (of persons) malicious

nasty, dirty, filthy, lousy, grotty, hateful, mean, unpleasant

adjective, as in exceptionally bad or displeasing

atrocious, abominable, dreadful, painful, terrible, unspeakable, bad

adjective, as in inspiring awe or admiration or wonder

amazing, awe-inspiring, awesome, awing, impressive

adjective, as in extreme in degree or extent or amount or impact

frightful, terrible, tremendous, extraordinary

adjective, as in inspired by a feeling of fearful wonderment or reverence

awed, reverent

adverb, as in used as intensifiers

terribly, awfully, frightfully

What does awful mean?7

adjective

1

causing fear or dread or terror“the awful war”

2

offensive or even (of persons) malicious“in a nasty mood”

3

exceptionally bad or displeasing“atrocious taste”

4

inspiring awe or admiration or wonder“New York is an amazing city”

5

extreme in degree or extent or amount or impact“in a frightful hurry”

6

inspired by a feeling of fearful wonderment or reverence“awed by the silence”

adverb

1

used as intensifiers“terribly interesting”

Definitions from the Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

What rhymes with awful?1

two syllables

waffle
Show 40 near rhymes
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Awful in a sentence

  • The concept is good, but the implementation is awful.islandisto
  • The day after our night on the lash, we felt awful.sundown
  • The taste is fine, but the texture is awful.ddnktr
  • Well, what awful weather there is in this awful town!rul
  • When the house caught fire, an awful feeling came over me.CM
  • He's a master of watercolours, but awful at oil painting.araneo
  • The idea is good, but the execution is awful.Pfirsichbaeumchen
  • I think it's awful, that they're spreading rumors.Zurich899

Sentences from Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR, credited to their authors.

Forms of awful

as a adjective

comparative
awfuller
superlative
awfullest