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awfulextremely bad or unpleasant

Part of speech: ADJECTIVE

Definition: extremely bad or unpleasant

Pronunciation (IPA): /ˈɔːfəl/

Example Sentences

  • My cooking skills are so awful that even my dog refuses to eat what I make.
  • The movie was awful - I wanted my money back after 10 minutes.
  • She felt awful about forgetting her best friend's birthday party.

awful

ADJECTIVE

[/ˈɔːfəl/]

extremely bad or unpleasant

The burnt lasagna smelled so awful that everyone covered their noses.
💡 Concept

The burnt lasagna smelled so awful that everyone covered their noses.

His unlawful verdicts were truly awful!
🎵 Rhyme

His unlawful verdicts were truly awful!

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🎤Pronunciation

🇺🇸 US/ˈɔːfəl/
🇬🇧 UK/ˈɔːfəl/

🌳Etymology

Rootawe
Suffix--ful

Origin

Derived from Middle English 'awe-full', combining 'awe' (a feeling of reverential respect) with the suffix '-full'. Originally carried a positive connotation of 'inspiring awe or wonder', but gradually shifted through 'fear-inducing' to its modern negative sense of 'terrible' or 'appalling'.

Breakdown

awe (reverence, dread) + -ful (full of, characterized by). The suffix -ful transforms the noun 'awe' into an adjective meaning 'full of awe'.

🎵Rhyme

lawfulunlawful
lawful
unlawful

🔗Collocations

awful weather
feel awful
awful lot
awful truth
look awful

📝Examples

😄 Fun example

My cooking skills are so awful that even my dog refuses to eat what I make.

The movie was awful - I wanted my money back after 10 minutes.

She felt awful about forgetting her best friend's birthday party.

That's an awful lot of homework for one weekend!

📚Related Words

Synonyms

terriblehorribledreadfulappallingatrocious

Antonyms

wonderfulexcellentgreat

Related

awfullyawfulnessaweawesome

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