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Cancer is too real, and too awful, and I can't make it good or magical. I couldn't even read a book where a character had cancer, for a while... But now I've reached a point where I don't think about cancer nonstop anymore, and sometimes I worry about that - I'm going to forget what I went through; I'm going to forget how horrible it was.
Sarah Addison Allen

Meaning of "awful" in the English dictionary

Dictionary
DICTIONARY
section

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD AWFUL

See awe, -ful.
info
Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.
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PRONUNCIATION OF AWFUL

awful  [ˈɔːfʊl] play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF AWFUL

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Awful can act as an adjective and an adverb.
The adjective is the word that accompanies the noun to determine or qualify it.

The adverb is an invariable part of the sentence that can change, explain or simplify a verb or another adverb.

WHAT DOES AWFUL MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Awful

Awful means extremely unpleasant, or of poor quality; also amazing, full of awe, awe-inspiring, awesome Awful may also mean: ▪ "Awful", a 1999 single by the band Hole ▪ Awful Orphan, a 1949 cartoon ▪ Awful Gardner, a notorious gambler ▪ Awful End, a 2002 children's novel ▪ "Awful, Beautiful Life", a song by Darryl Worley ▪ Awful Mess Mystery, a Wolfie album ▪ The Awful DYNNE, a character from The Phantom TollboothThe Awful Truth, a 1937 comedy ▪ Something Awful, a comedy website...

Definition of awful in the English dictionary

The first definition of awful in the dictionary is very bad; unpleasant. Other definition of awful is inspiring reverence or dread. Awful is also overcome with awe; reverential.

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH AWFUL


barful
ˈbɑːfʊl
beautiful
ˈbjuːtɪfʊl
careful
ˈkɛəfʊl
carful
ˈkɑːfʊl
colorful
ˈkʌləfʊl
dueful
ˈdjuːfʊl
full
fʊl
gleeful
ˈɡliːfʊl
god-awful
ˌɡɒdˈɔːfʊl
grateful
ˈɡreɪtfʊl
helpful
ˈhɛlpfʊl
hopeful
ˈhəʊpfʊl
jarful
ˈdʒɑːfʊl
lawful
ˈlɔːfʊl
powerful
ˈpaʊəfʊl
rueful
ˈruːfʊl
successful
səkˈsɛsfʊl
unlawful
ʌnˈlɔːfʊl
useful
ˈjuːsfʊl
wonderful
ˈwʌndəfʊl

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE AWFUL

aweigh
aweless
awelessness
awesome
awesomely
awesomeness
awestricken
awestrike
awestruck
aweto
awfully
awfulness
awhato
awheel
awheto
awhile
awhirl
awkward
awkwardish
awkwardly

WORDS THAT END LIKE AWFUL

barrowful
cheerful
colourful
delightful
dreadful
faithful
handful
harmful
impactful
insightful
painful
peaceful
playful
respectful
sorrowful
stressful
thankful
thoughtful
unsuccessful
youthful

Synonyms and antonyms of awful in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

SYNONYMS OF «AWFUL»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «awful» and belong to the same grammatical category.
synonyms of awful

Translation of «awful» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF AWFUL

Find out the translation of awful to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of awful from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «awful» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

糟糕的
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

espantoso
570 millions of speakers

English

awful
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

भयंकर
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

شَنِيع
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

ужасный
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

horrível
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

ভয়াবহ, আতঙ্কজনক
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

affreux
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Mengerikan
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

schrecklich
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

ひどい
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

몹시 나쁜
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Awake dhewe
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

kinh khủng
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

மோசமான
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

भीषण
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

korkunç
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

orribile
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

straszny
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

жахливий
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

groaznic
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

φρικτός
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

verskriklik
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

fruktansvärd
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

skrekkelig
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of awful

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «AWFUL»

The term «awful» is very widely used and occupies the 11.049 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Very widely used
95
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «awful» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of awful
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «awful».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «AWFUL» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «awful» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «awful» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about awful

EXAMPLES

10 QUOTES WITH «AWFUL»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word awful.
1
Spencer Abraham
Well, the responsibility for maintaining a reliable transmission grid is one that's shared by an awful lot of players who have a role in the grid: Companies that either generate and transmit energy or just play the role of being the transmission systems or monitoring them.
2
Sarah Addison Allen
Cancer is too real, and too awful, and I can't make it good or magical. I couldn't even read a book where a character had cancer, for a while... But now I've reached a point where I don't think about cancer nonstop anymore, and sometimes I worry about that - I'm going to forget what I went through; I'm going to forget how horrible it was.
3
Joseph Barbera
Bill Hanna and I owe an awful lot to television, but we both got our start and built the first phase of our partnership in the movies.
4
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Occasionally, when I get mad at a woman, I'll do some great, awful painting about her.
5
Rob Bell
Suffering is traumatic and awful and we get angry and we shake our fists at the heavens and we vent and rage and weep. But in the process we discover a new tomorrow, one we never would have imagined otherwise.
6
Ella R. Bloor
I shall never forget the despair and agony on the parents' faces on the awful day of the funeral when the 13 little children, victims not only of John D. Rockefeller, but of the government of the state of Colorado were buried.
7
Clara Bow
Even now I can't trust life. It did too many awful things to me as a kid.
8
Eddie Bracken
I was in an awful lot of trouble in Hollywood.
9
Taylor Branch
There are an awful lot of people who despise government precisely because it opened the door for common citizenship for people of all races and all natures in the United States.
10
Fanny Brice
Being a funny person does an awful lot of things to you. You feel that you mustn't get serious with people. They don't expect it from you, and they don't want to see it. You're not entitled to be serious, you're a clown.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «AWFUL»

Discover the use of awful in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to awful and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
Just awful
Tells a story about a small boy who cuts his finger in the playground and is sent to the school nurse. Tries to alleviate fears children have of the school nurse and designed to stimulate discussion on fear of the unknown.
Alma Marshak Whitney, 1971
2
Are They Really So Awful?: A Cameraman's Chronicles
Among the many films he photographed are: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines, the Tales of Hoffman and - perhaps the most famous of them all - Genevieve.
Christopher Challis, 1995
3
You Are Awful (But I Like You): Travels Through Unloved Britain
In You are Awful, Tim Moore drives his Austin Maestro round all the places on our beloved island that nobody wants to go to - our most miserable towns, shonkiest hotels, scariest pubs, and silliest sea zoos.
Tim Moore, 2012
4
Grover's bad, awful day
Mommy comforts Grover after he has a bad, awful day.
Anna H. Dickson, 1997
5
The Best Awful: A Novel
A woman struggles to cope with a descent into psychosis and to make her way through a challenging stay in a psychiatric institution to build a new life for herself.
Carrie Fisher, 2005
6
Awful Ogre's Awful Day
I'm an awful, awful ogre, Absolutely awful ogre.
Jack Prelutsky, 2005
7
How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous
A look at the deaths of several famous people throughout history and the circumstances surrounding those deaths.
Georgia Bragg, 2012
8
Awful Splendour: A Fire History of Canada
The choices Canadians have made says a great deal about their national character. Awful Splendour narrates the history of this grand saga. It will interest geographers, historians, and members of the fire community.
Stephen J. Pyne, 2011
9
A House Called Awful End
Eleven-year-old Eddie Dickens is taken in by his great-uncle and great-aunt, Mad Uncle Jack and Mad Aunt Maude, and embarks on adventures that involve St. Horrid's Home for Grateful Orphans and a carnival float shaped like a giant cow.
Phillip Ardagh, 2003
10
Terrible, Awful, Horrible Manners!
Peter takes pride in being rude and gross. He doesn't think manners are important at all. But when his family starts to use bad manners, Peter gets a reality check.
Kate McMullan, 2011

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «AWFUL»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term awful is used in the context of the following news items.
1
The not-great-but-not-awful Braves keep us hanging on
Just after Memorial Day, we noted that the Atlanta Braves' schedule over the next month-plus would be most testing. Our conclusion: “If the ... «Atlanta Journal Constitution, Jul 15»
2
'Awful' crash, Confederate battle flags mar landmark NASCAR race
“Oh my God, that looked awful,” he yelled into his radio. Mr. Dillon was able to walk away from the crash with only minor injuries. He was ... «Christian Science Monitor, Jul 15»
3
Nintendo's nationalism and “awful” working conditions killed Wii game
Working conditions were described as "awful," with management decisions constantly overridden by the Japanese headquarters. "Many of us ... «Ars Technica UK, Jul 15»
4
PlayStation Now turned my awful Samsung Smart TV into a fun …
PlayStation Now is a neat little service. Sony purchased Gaikai a few years ago and turned it into a way to play PlayStation games without ... «Ars Technica UK, Jul 15»
5
Demi Lovato Sustained No Serious Injury After An Awful Plummet …
Demi Lovato has no serious injurt after an awful plummet in a pool while giving her fans a special performance. Lovato, who is busy promoting ... «Realty Today, Jul 15»
6
Mandelson slams 'awful complacency'
Labour grandee Lord Mandelson has claimed that the party had slipped into "awful complacency" following its election defeat as he warned ... «BT.com, Jul 15»
7
Americans celebrate World Cup in most awful way possible: 'Japs …
American soccer fans celebrated the U.S. women's World Cup title Sunday by comparing the 5-2 victory over Japan to an atomic bombing. «Raw Story, Jul 15»
8
CNN's Sally Kohn Cringes at Hillary Campaign Roping Reporters …
“This is awful! It's just awful!” Kohn said. “It was like, the optics of it, I mean it took press wrangling to a whole new level, right? There's a sort of ... «Mediaite, Jul 15»
9
Lucy Kellaway: Awful Microsoft shows how NOT to write Mission …
When Lucy Kellaway gets her teeth into something, prisoners are optional. Microsoft's communications team will attest to this reality when they ... «BizNews, Jul 15»
10
Tour de France 2015: Awful crash leaves riders in agony before …
The records will show Chris Froome claiming the yellow jersey at the end of stage three of the Tour de France here, but the enduring images ... «The Independent, Jul 15»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Awful [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/awful>. Apr 2024 ».
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