Meaning
Very bad or very unpleasant.
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Word origin
From Old English egefull, meaning full of awe. The old sense was "causing fear", which is how a word close to "awesome" ended up meaning very bad.
- Origin
- Old English
- Root
- egefull
- English cognates
- awe, awesome
Examples
.
"Awful" is stronger than "bad".
.
"Feel awful" can mean sorry as well as ill.
.
"Awful" goes before the noun here.
Where this fits
Used in
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English · Free printables
awful: worksheet, infographic and listicleThe padlock and Plus mark show a Kilo Lingo Plus feature. Start your free week to unlock it - no card needed.
Free printable study downloads for the English word "awful" (Very bad or very unpleasant.): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free week (no card)This word is taught in chapter 14, lesson 10: awful, focus, project and 7 more words.