awful
gb/ˈɔfəl/ us/ˈɔfəl/
A2
Anglais
~ 2800
Sens
0 sens
adjective
A2
property
1
Very bad or unpleasant
Very bad or not nice.
Schéma d’usage :
[something] is awful
Erreur fréquente :
Learners sometimes confuse 'awful' with 'awesome' because they sound similar, but their meanings are opposite.
Synonymes
terrible (Almost identical in meaning; slightly more common in everyday speech.)
Antonymes
great (Expresses the opposite positive quality.)
Collocations
awful smell
|awful experience
|awful mistake
|awful weather
|feel awful
Thèmes
emotions
|daily life
|daily_life
|communication
|core_vocabulary
Exemples
- The food at that restaurant was awful.
- She had an awful headache after the long flight.
- It was an awful decision that led to many problems.
- The weather has been awful all week.
- He made an awful mess in the kitchen.
Exemples pédagogiques
- This cake tastes awful.
- I feel awful today.
- The movie was awful.
- It is awful to be late.
- The soup smells awful.
adjective
informal
B1
property
2
Feeling unwell or guilty
Feeling sick or very sorry about something.
Schéma d’usage :
feel awful [about/after something]
Synonymes
terrible (Common synonym for feeling unwell or guilty.)
Antonymes
fine (Indicates feeling physically or emotionally okay.)
Collocations
feel awful about
|feel awful after
|made me feel awful
Thèmes
emotions
|health
Exemples
- I feel awful about forgetting her birthday.
- He felt awful after eating too much cake.
- She felt awful for lying to her friend.
Exemples pédagogiques
- I feel awful today.
- He feels awful about his mistake.
- She feels awful after the test.
adjective
literary
C1
property
3
Inspiring fear or reverence
Making people feel great respect or fear.
Synonymes
awe-inspiring (More common in modern English for this sense.)
Antonymes
ordinary (Lacking any special quality that inspires awe.)
Collocations
awful majesty
|awful silence
Thèmes
literature
|emotions
|core_vocabulary
Exemples
- They stood in the awful presence of the ancient monument.
- The general held an awful power over his soldiers.
- The ceremony had an awful beauty.
Exemples pédagogiques
- The mountain had an awful beauty.
- The king had an awful power.
- The storm had an awful force.
Grammaire
Forme canonique
awful
API
GB/ˈɔfəl/
US/ˈɔfəl/
Syllabes et accentuation
aw - ful (2 syllabes)
Stress on 1st syllable (aw)
Formes du mot
Adjective
- Base: awful
Famille de mots
Core family
awfully
adverb B1
Related words
awfulness
noun
Expressions
an awful lot of
1/ən ˈɔfəl lˈɑt əv/
fixed phrase
informal
A very large amount of something
A very big amount of something.
Exemples
- We spent an awful lot of money on repairs.
- There are an awful lot of people here today.
make someone feel awful
1/mˈeɪk sˈʌmwˌʌn fˈil ˈɔfəl/
fixed phrase
Cause someone to feel bad or guilty
To make someone feel sick or very sorry about something.
Exemples
- I didn't mean to make you feel awful about it.
- That news made him feel awful all day.
pretty awful
1/pɹˈɪti ˈɔfəl/
fixed phrase
informal
Quite bad or unpleasant
Very bad, but not the worst possible.
Exemples
- The service at that place is pretty awful.
- His handwriting is pretty awful.