awful

CEFRA2

/ˈɔːfʊl/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Very bad, unpleasant, or shocking.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    Causing fear or horror; appalling, terrible.

Examples

  • I'm afraid there's been some awful news.

  • It's an awful shame your wife couldn't come.

At a glance

Sits at A2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
2

Also pronounced

  • [ˈoːfɫ̩]
  • [ˈɔːfɫ̩]

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. Exceedingly great; usually applied intensively.

  2. Very bad.

  3. Awe-inspiring; filling with profound reverence or respect; profoundly impressive.

More examples

In context

  • The rooms were awful and the food was worse.

  • I have learnt an awful amount today.

  • The smell of my socks is awful.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The spoiled milk had an blank smell that filled the kitchen.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

From Middle English agheful, awfull, auful, aȝefull, equivalent to awe + -ful. Compare Old English eġeful, eġefull (“terrifying; awful”). The “very bad” sense is a pejorative semantic shift from the original sense of “awe-inspiring”.