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awful

aw·fulUK /ˈɔːfʊl/adjective, adverb

awful is spelled A-W-F-U-L: 5 letters and 2 syllables (aw·ful). It appears 29 times per million words in written English, the 3,218th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, awful means “Very bad” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in awful?

Letters5: A-W-F-U-L
Syllables2: aw·ful
In writing29 times per million words; the 3,218th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is awful?

Awful appears 29 times per million words in written English, the 3,218th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce awful?

  • UK /ˈɔːfʊl/
  • UK /ˈɔːfəl/
  • UK [ˈɔːfɫ̩]

Awful has 2 syllables, split aw·ful in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-awful.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with awful

Also written: awe-ful, awe-full.

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

Forms of awful

  • awfuller comparative
  • more awful comparative
  • awfullest superlative
  • most awful superlative

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does awful mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

    Very bad.

    The smell of my socks is awful.

  2. 2

    Exceedingly great; usually applied intensively.

    I have learnt an awful amount today.

  3. 3

    datedCausing fear or horror; appalling, terrible.

  4. 4

    archaicAwe-inspiring; filling with profound reverence or respect; profoundly impressive.

  5. 5

    archaicStruck or filled with awe or reverence.

  6. 6

    obsoleteTerror-stricken.

  7. 7

    IrelandProne to a particular temptation.

adverb

  1. 1

    colloquialAwfully; dreadfully; terribly.

  2. 2

    CanadaUScolloquialVery, extremely.

    That's an awful big house.

noun

as AWFUL
  1. 1

    USderogatoryAcronym of affluent white female urban liberal.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Awful in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchaffreux, horrible, immonde, épouvantable (very bad), terrible (causing fear; appalling; terrible)
Germanschrecklich, furchtbar (very bad), hervorragend, toll (exceedingly great)
Portuguesehorrível, terrível, péssimo (very bad), medonho (causing fear; appalling; terrible)
Spanishinfumable, malísimo (very bad), espantoso (causing fear; appalling; terrible)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does awful come from?

From Middle English agheful, awfull, auful, aȝefull, equivalent to awe + -ful. Compare Old English eġeful, eġefull (“terrifying; awful”). The “very bad” sense is a pejorative semantic shift from the original sense of “awe-inspiring”.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after awful