1
: extremely disagreeable or objectionable
awful food
awful behavior
an awful experience
2
informal
: exceedingly great
—used as an intensive
an awful lot of money
was in an awful hurry
3
: inspiring awe
… the presence of Nature in all her awful loveliness.—
George Eliot
George Eliot
Using Awful as an Adjective and Adverb: Usage Guide
Some object to the senses of awful and awfully that do not convey the etymological connection with awe. However, the "extremely disagreeable or objectionable" and "exceedingly great" meanings of awful are widely used and were being used in speech and casual writing by the late 18th century.
It is an awful while since you have heard from me …
—John Keats (letter)
John Keats (letter)
There was an awful crowd …
—Sir Walter Scott (letter)
Sir Walter Scott (letter)
This is an awful thing to say to Oil Painters …
—William Blake
William Blake
Adverbial use of awful as an intensive dates to the early 19th century.
"I dreamed I was lying at the foot of the fall, almost naked, and awful hungry."
—Catherine Maria Sedgwick
Catherine Maria Sedgwick
It is largely restricted to informal prose and to the spoken language it emulates and is chiefly an American use.
I tell them that seven years is an awful long time.
—Kenneth Feinberg
Kenneth Feinberg
Awful quiet out there, I thought. Disquietingly quiet.
—Mike Sutter
Mike Sutter
"There are some awful good golfers playing in the tournament this week," observed Cook.
—George Geise
George Geise
Examples of awful in a Sentence
Adjective
They heard the most awful sounds.
Awful things began to happen.
He has some awful disease.
That joke is just awful.
That's an awful thing to say.
Who painted the house that awful color?
The mountains have an awful majesty.
Adverb
We haven't heard from him in an awful long time.
You've come an awful long way.
Recent Examples on the Web
Jennifer Maas, Variety, 30 Oct. 2025
Hurricane Melissa’s devastation is the awful alchemy created by the unique combination of unstoppable gusts, seawater that is forced inland and deluge that pours out of the sky, all interacting with the landscape and human lives the storm found in its path.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 29 Oct. 2025
Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 26 May 2022
First, there is the question whether the awful-looking restraint maneuver Chauvin used was actually authorized at the time, or at least not clearly forbidden.
—D.j. Tice, Star Tribune, 20 Feb. 2021
See All Example Sentences for awful
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Adjective
The cuts that have been made are awful, and because of the situation in the government, so much of their funding has been lost.
—Jennifer Maas, Variety, 30 Oct. 2025
Hurricane Melissa’s devastation is the awful alchemy created by the unique combination of unstoppable gusts, seawater that is forced inland and deluge that pours out of the sky, all interacting with the landscape and human lives the storm found in its path.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 29 Oct. 2025
Adverb
Someone who has worked awful hard, has a great skill set, four years of college, four years of lifting, four years of game-planning at a high level in Division III.
—Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 26 May 2022
First, there is the question whether the awful-looking restraint maneuver Chauvin used was actually authorized at the time, or at least not clearly forbidden.
—D.j. Tice, Star Tribune, 20 Feb. 2021
See All Example Sentences for awful
Cite this Entry
“Awful.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/awful. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
awful
1 of 2 adjective
aw·ful
ˈȯ-fəl 
1
2
: extremely disagreeable or unpleasant
3
informal
: very great
an awful lot of money
awfulness
noun
awful
2 of 2 adverb
: very entry 2 sense 1
awful tired
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