- 1(informal) very bad or unpleasant That's an awful color. “They didn't even offer to pay.” “Oh, that's awful.” It's awful, isn't it? The weather last summer was awful. I feel awful about forgetting her birthday. to look/feel awful (= to look/feel sick) There's an awful smell in here. The awful thing is, it was my fault. Thesaurusterrible
- awful
- horrible
- dreadful
- foul
- horrendous
- terrible very bad or unpleasant; making you feel unhappy, frightened, upset, ill, guilty, or disapproving:What terrible news! That's a terrible thing to say!
- awful (somewhat informal) very bad or unpleasant; used to describe something that you do not like or that makes you feel depressed, ill, guilty, or disapproving:That's an awful color. The weather last summer was awful.
- horrible (somewhat informal) very unpleasant; used to describe something that you do not like:The coffee tasted horrible.
- dreadful (somewhat informal) very bad or unpleasant; used to describe something that you do not like or that you disapprove of:My schedule is dreadful this week.
- foul extremely bad or unpleasant:A foul odor came from the kitchen. He was in a foul mood.
- horrendous (somewhat informal) extremely unpleasant and unacceptable:The traffic around the city was horrendous.
- terrible/awful/horrible/dreadful for somebody
- a(n) terrible/awful/horrible/dreadful/foul thing
- a(n) terrible/awful/horrible/foul smell
- terrible/awful/horrible/dreadful/vile/horrendous conditions
- terrible/awful/horrible/dreadful/foul weather
- terrible/awful/dreadful news
- 2(informal) used to emphasize something, especially that there is a large amount or too much of something It's going to cost an awful lot of money. There's not an awful lot of room. I feel an awful lot better than I did yesterday.
- 3very shocking synonym terrible the awful horrors of war
the sheer awfulness of the situationSee awful in the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
Check pronunciation: awful