awful

adjective
UK: /ˈɔːfl/
US: /ˈɔːfl/

  1. Very bad or unpleasant.

    1. The weather is awful today, so we stayed inside. [ ] [ ]
    2. The food at that new restaurant was truly awful, I couldn't eat it. [ ] [ ]

  2. Extremely shocking or frightening.

    1. There was an awful accident on the highway. [ ] [ ]
    2. The consequences of our actions could be awful if we're not careful. [ ] [ ]

  3. Used to emphasize the great size or degree of something.

    1. That's an awful lot of money to spend on a car. [ ] [ ]
    2. It took an awful long time to finish that project, but it's finally done. [ ] [ ]

Synonyms

terrible dreadful horrible nasty
awful adverb

  1. Very badly or unpleasantly.

    1. I slept awful last night because of the noise. [ ] [ ]
    2. She played awful in the game, missing every shot she took. [ ] [ ]

Frequently Asked Questions

The word "awful" in English means: Very bad or unpleasant., Extremely shocking or frightening., Used to emphasize the great size or degree of something..

The phonetic transcription of "awful" is /ˈɔːfl/ in British English and /ˈɔːfl/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Synonyms for "awful": terrible, dreadful, horrible, nasty.

Example usage of "awful": "The weather is awful today, so we stayed inside.". More examples on the page.