awful: Meaning and Definition of

aw•ful

Pronunciation: (ô'ful), [key]
— adj.
  1. extremely bad; unpleasant; ugly: awful paintings; an awful job.
  2. inspiring fear; dreadful; terrible: an awful noise.
  3. solemnly impressive; inspiring awe: the awful majesty of alpine peaks.
  4. full of awe; reverential.
  5. extremely dangerous, risky, injurious, etc.: That was an awful fall she had. He took an awful chance by driving here so fast.
—adv.
  1. very; extremely: He did an awful good job of painting the barn. It's awful hot in here.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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