Meaning & use
god-awful
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a nouninformal
Extremely bad, unpleasant, or of very low quality.
Grammar: Used before a noun for strong emphasis: a god-awful mess. It is not usually used after a linking verb.
Patterns
- god-awful mess
- god-awful noise
- god-awful weather
We stayed in a god-awful hotel near the airport.
There was a god-awful smell coming from the kitchen.
He made a god-awful speech that nobody enjoyed.
adverbinformal
Extremely or very badly; used to make an adjective or verb stronger.
Grammar: Used informally like 'awfully' or 'terribly' to add emphasis: god-awful tired.
Patterns
- god-awful tired
- god-awful hot
I'm god-awful tired after working all night.
It was god-awful hot in the bus.
Common combinations
- god-awful mess
- The room was a god-awful mess after the party.
- god-awful noise
- The neighbors made a god-awful noise all night.
- god-awful weather
- We had god-awful weather on our vacation.
- look god-awful
- You look god-awful; are you sick?
Synonyms and how they differ
- awful
- Less emphatic and neutral in register; 'god-awful' is stronger and informal.
- terrible
- Also means very bad but is more formal and not as emotional as 'god-awful'.
- dreadful
- Slightly more formal and often used for situations or events, not for casual emphasis.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: god-awful or awful?
god-awful vs awful
'Awful' is the base word and is not informal; 'god-awful' adds strong emphasis and is informal.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'god-awful' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'God-awful' can be used after a linking verb like 'tasted' to mean extremely bad. Option B is wrong because 'god-awful' does not combine with 'delicious' that way. Option C is wrong because it is not used before a verb. Option D is wrong because 'god-awful' is not used with 'at' in this pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “god-awful”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.