awful

Meanings

1. 1adjectivecomparable

   Very bad, unpleasant, or of very poor quality.

   Grammar: Can go before a noun or after a linking verb: an awful day, the food was awful.

   Patterns

   • an awful experience
   • feel awful

   The weather was awful all week.

   The soup tasted awful.

   It was an awful film with a silly plot.

2. 2adjectiveafter a verbinformal

   Feeling ill or very guilty or upset.

   Grammar: Used with look or feel: I feel awful.

   Patterns

   • feel awful
   • look awful

   I feel awful about forgetting your birthday.

   You look awful, so go home and rest.

   She felt awful after the long flight.

3. 3adjectivebefore a nouninformal

   Great in amount, used to stress how much of something there is.

   Grammar: Informal: an awful lot of, an awful amount.

   Patterns

   • an awful lot of something

   There is an awful lot of work to do.

   He spends an awful amount of time online.

   We waited an awful long time.

Word forms

Common combinations

awful lot

That costs an awful lot of money.

feel awful

I felt awful for being late.

awful weather

The awful weather ruined the picnic.

look awful

He looked awful after the night shift.

awful truth

The awful truth finally came out.

Synonyms and how they differ

terrible

Terrible is a close match but sounds slightly stronger and can describe serious events.

dreadful

Dreadful is a little more formal and often British, and suggests something unpleasant or alarming.

horrible

Horrible emphasizes disgust or shock more than awful does.

lousy

Lousy is slang for poor quality and is more casual than awful.

Opposites

Word family

awfully adverb

very, or in a very bad way

awfulness noun

the quality of being very bad

awe noun

great respect mixed with wonder or fear

awesome adjective

inspiring awe, or informally excellent

Commonly confused: awful or awesome?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “awful”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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