awful

/ˈɔː.fʊl/

//ˈɔː.fʊl// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"awful" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“awful” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,209. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,209
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Very bad.

Corpus desk

Index EN-awful · awful · English

awful · rank #3,209 · 7 variants · 6 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,209
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 6 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH atmosphere

Nearest frequency peer: atmosphere (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “awful”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “awful” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

awful vs AWOL
0% similar
awful vs awfully
71% similar
awful vs AFL
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for awful
PropertyValue
Headwordawful
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈɔː.fʊl/
Letters5
Frequency rank#3,209
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “awful”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).awfullands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “atmosphere” (#3,208), “bedroom” (#3,210), “assessment” (#3,207). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “awful” is #3,209. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around awful (IPA /ˈɔː.fʊl/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #3,209 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for awful, with forms such as "afwul", "awfful", and "awflu". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "AWOL", "awfully", "AFL", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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”. The correct English form is awful, spelled A-W-F-U-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Very bad.
  2. 2
    Exceedingly great; usually applied intensively.
  3. 3
    Causing fear or horror; appalling, terrible.
  4. 4
    Awe-inspiring; filling with profound reverence or respect; profoundly impressive.
  5. 5
    Struck or filled with awe or reverence.
  6. 6
    Terror-stricken.
  7. 7
    Prone to a particular temptation.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how awful appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The smell of my socks is awful.
  2. We saw such an awful film last night that we left the theater before the end.

Etymology

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”.

This word in other languages

horrible(Español)affreux(Français)schrecklich(Deutsch)horrível(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • afwul
  • awfful
  • awflu
  • awfull
  • awufl
  • awwful
  • waful

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of awful - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

afwul2awfful1awflu2awfull1awufl2awwful1waful2
Edit distance from "awful"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "awful"?
"awful" is spelled A-W-F-U-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɔː.fʊl/.
What does "awful" mean?
As an adjective, "awful" means: Very bad.
What words are commonly confused with "awful"?
"awful" is commonly confused with "AWOL", "awfully", "AFL". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "awful"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "awful" is /ˈɔː.fʊl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "awful"?
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”. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "awful", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

argue#3,206bound#3,212cloud#3,219tears#3,198

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

accused7 variantsmount7 variantsmirror7 variantsJason7 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list