awful

adj

1. Very bad.

   “The smell of my socks is awful.”

   “We saw such an awful film last night that we left the theater before the end.”

2. Exceedingly great; usually applied intensively.

   “I have learnt an awful amount today.”

   “Shepard: You seem to know an awful lot about me. Geth: Extranet data sources. Insecure broadcasts. All organic data sent out is received. We watch you.”

3. (dated)Causing fear or horror; appalling, terrible.

   “There was an air of gravity and importance about the garb of the person, and something indescribably odd, I might say awful, in the perfect, stonelike stillness of the figure, that effectually checked the testy comment which had at once risen to the lips of the irritated artist.”

   “At our old pastimes in the hall ⁠We gambol’d, making vain pretence ⁠Of gladness, with an awful sense Of one mute Shadow watching all.”

4. (archaic)Awe-inspiring; filling with profound reverence or respect; profoundly impressive.

   “As I am seen could I but gaze on Thee / Awful in majesty and royal might”

   “God ought not to be commixed in our actions, but with awful reverence, and an attention full of honour and respect.”

   “And then she stopped, and stood as if in awe / (For sleep is awful)[…].”

   “If the keepers of the sacred corral discovered paternity in their stock breeding, then that knowledge would have been seen as numinous, awe-ful, and unconsciously unsettling.”

5. (archaic)Struck or filled with awe or reverence.

   “She spoke about Mr. Pendennis (a worthy little gentleman enough, but there are others as good as he) with an awful reverence, as if he had been the Pope of Rome on his throne, and she a cardinal kneeling at his feet, and giving him incense.”

6. (obsolete)Terror-stricken.
7. (Ireland, especially)Prone to a particular temptation.

   “"It's her imagination, that's what it is," Millie said. "She's awful for imagining things, Wilfred agreed with me."”

   “Tommy was just an awful man for the paper - couldn't get enough of the stuff! He'd have had the very Yellow Pages down him!”

adv

1. (colloquial, not-comparable)Awfully; dreadfully; terribly.

   “The race was run, and the dog ran "awful".”

2. (Canada, US, colloquial, not-comparable)Very, extremely.

   “That's an awful big house.”

   “She seemed awful nice when I met her yesterday.”

   “He was blubbering away something awful.”

   ““They say the Battery's awful bad,” and he hummed dolorously[.]”

noun

1. (US, abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, derogatory)Acronym of affluent white female urban liberal.

   “She's AWFUL... Affluent White Female Urban Liberal.”

   “The conservative radio host Erick Erickson described her [Renee Good] as an “AWFUL,” or “Affluent White Female Urban Liberal.””

   “Well, on January 7th, 2026 at 2:22 PM during the commercial break of this program, I tweeted, “An AWFUL,” in parentheses, “(affluent white female urban liberal) is dead after running her car into an ICE agent who opened fire on her. Progressive whites are turning violent. ICE agents have the right to defend themselves.””