awful

awful — adjective

1. so unpleasant, low in quality, or upsetting that it makes you feel uncomfortable

1.adjectiveA2
Definition

so unpleasant, low in quality, or upsetting that it makes you feel uncomfortable, disappointed, or even slightly sick — for example, a meal that tastes spoiled, a film no one enjoyed, or news of someone's accident.

Example

The soup tasted awful, so Dimitri pushed his bowl away after one spoonful.

linking verb pattern: taste/smell/look + awful

Ines had an awful headache and went to bed before dinner.

modifier of physical symptoms: awful + pain/headache/cold

Common collocations
  • taste awful
  • feel awful
  • look awful
  • an awful headache
  • an awful smell
  • absolutely awful
Synonyms
  • terrible

    near-identical scope and register

  • dreadful

    slightly more formal, common in British English

  • horrible

    stronger emotional reaction, often physical disgust

  • lousy

    informal; mostly North American

Antonyms
  • wonderful

    expresses strong positive judgement

  • lovely

    milder positive, more British

Usage Note

Common as a predicative adjective after sense verbs (look, taste, smell, sound, feel). Distinguish from sense 2: this sense gives a negative judgement; sense 2 only intensifies the noun's amount.

Common Mistakes

I feel awfully about it.
I feel awful about it.
after a linking verb you need the adjective, not the adverb.

2. placed before a noun to stress how very large the amount, number, or degree feel

2.adjectiveB2
Definition

placed before a noun to stress how very large the amount, number, or degree feels to the speaker — for example, an awful lot of money, an awful amount of sugar, or an awful number of mistakes.

Example

Hana has spent an awful lot of money on his new mountain bike.

fixed phrase: an awful lot of + uncountable/plural noun

There were an awful lot of tourists at the temple this weekend.

agreement with plural noun after 'lot of'

Common collocations
  • an awful lot of money
  • an awful lot of people
  • an awful amount of time
  • an awful number of
Synonyms
  • huge

    neutral register, focuses on physical or numerical size

  • tremendous

    more positive overtone

  • enormous

    emphasises scale rather than excess

Antonyms
  • tiny

    physical or quantitative smallness

  • minimal

    more formal, suggests barely any

Grammar Patterns

an awful lot of + noun

Usage Note

Almost always attributive (placed before the noun) and very often inside the chunk 'an awful lot of'. Unlike sense 1, it carries no negative judgement on its own — 'an awful lot of friends' simply means 'many friends'.

Common Mistakes

The crowd was awful big.
The crowd was awfully big.' / 'It was an awful big crowd.
to modify another adjective, use the adverb 'awfully', or keep 'awful' before the noun.

3. filling someone with deep wonder and a kind of fear because of how mighty, sacre

3.adjectiveC2
Definition

filling someone with deep wonder and a kind of fear because of how mighty, sacred, or vast the thing seems — used in older or literary writing about gods, mountains, storms, and royal power.

Example

The poet describes a god whose awful gaze silences every mortal in the hall.

literary register; before noun referring to divine power

From the cliff edge the climbers watched the awful beauty of the storm rolling in.

collocation: awful beauty / awful majesty

Common collocations
  • awful majesty
  • awful silence
  • awful beauty
  • awful power
Synonyms
Antonyms
  • trivial

    lacking importance or grandeur

Usage Note

Archaic or literary only. In modern conversation 'awful' will be heard as sense 1, so this sense is best replaced by 'awe-inspiring' or 'awesome' unless you are writing in a poetic or historical register.

Common Mistakes

The Grand Canyon is awful.' (intending 'magnificent').
The Grand Canyon is awe-inspiring.
modern listeners hear 'awful' as 'very bad', so use 'awe-inspiring' instead.

awful — adverb

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All five words let a learner say that something is very bad, but the choice carries a different feel. 'Awful' is the everyday A2 option in both British and American English and works for everything from food to weather. 'Terrible' overlaps almost completely with 'awful' but can sound a touch stronger when you mean truly serious harm: 'a terrible accident' is heavier than 'an awful accident'. 'Dreadful' is more typical of British speakers and slightly more formal. 'Horrible' adds a layer of disgust or fear, so it fits smells, tastes, and frightening sights. 'Lousy' is informal North American slang and sits well with low-stakes complaints — 'a lousy hotel', 'a lousy day' — but would be too casual in a sympathy card.

awful ↗terrible ↗dreadful ↗horrible ↗lousy

Common collocations

Nouns

  • an awful headache
  • an awful smell
  • an awful time
  • an awful lot
  • an awful mess
  • an awful person

Adverbs

  • absolutely awful
  • really awful
  • pretty awful
  • just awful

Phrases

  • an awful lot of
  • feel awful about
  • look awful
  • taste awful

Prepositions

  • awful about (something)
  • awful at (doing something)
  • awful for (someone)

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishModern English

First written as Old English 'egefull', meaning 'full of awe', from 'ege' (terror, dread) plus '-ful'. Through the Middle English period it kept the strong sense of 'inspiring fear or reverence', which is why old hymns still talk about the 'awful majesty' of God. From around the early 1800s the word weakened in everyday speech to mean simply 'very bad', and by the late 19th century the chunk 'an awful lot' had spread as a casual intensifier. The older 'inspiring awe' meaning survives only in literary or religious writing.