Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - awful

Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. If you say that someone or something is awful, you dislike that person or thing or you think that they are not very good. We met and I thought he was awful... ...an awful smell of paint... Even if the weather’s awful there’s lots to do... Jeans look awful on me. = dreadful ? wonderful ADJ • awfulness The programme’s awfulness has ensured it is talked about. N-UNCOUNT 2. If you say that something is awful, you mean that it is extremely unpleasant, shocking, or bad. Her injuries were massive. It was awful... Some of their offences are so awful they would chill the blood. = horrific ADJ 3. If you look or feel awful, you look or feel ill. I hardly slept at all and felt pretty awful... = terrible ADJ: v-link ADJ 4. You can use awful with noun groups that refer to an amount in order to emphasize how large that amount is. I’ve got an awful lot of work to do. = tremendous ADJ: ADJ n c darkgreen]emphasis • awfully Would you mind awfully waiting a bit, I’ll be back right away. = terribly ADV: usu ADV adj/adv 5. You can use awful with adjectives that describe a quality in order to emphasize that particular quality. (AM INFORMAL) Gosh, you’re awful pretty... = very ADV: ADV adj c darkgreen]emphasis