awe

²awe

verb \ˈȯ\

awedaw·ing

Definition of AWE

transitive verb

: to inspire or fill with awe <we were awed by the beauty of the mountains>

Examples of AWE

1. Her style both awes and perplexes me.
2. We stood at an impasse. If she thought she was getting my bags, she was nuts. I was still awed that they had actually made it through baggage claim in one piece; there was no way I was parting with them now. —Helene Cooper, The House At Sugar Beach, (2008) 2009
3. Most relative neophytes are so awed by having been accepted into the priesthood of specialty medicine and so reluctant to cause themselves trouble in the institutions in which they will work for the coming decades that they would be hesitant to risk offending their seniors. —Sherwin B. Nuland, New York Review of Books, 18 July 2002
4. But even non-birders cannot help but be awed by the significance of the habitat. All around us creatures dart and dive; birds attracted by fish and water, birds drawn by seeds and chaff. Birds with silly names: loons, boobies, cuckoos, goatsuckers. —Clara Jeffery, Harper's, November 2002

Origin of AWE

(see ¹awe)

First Known Use: 13th century