What does "Awful" mean ?
What does awful mean?
4 Answers
Hi kissme.
When you have done as Gekko suggests remember that we also use "awful" in other ways.
We can say "awfully good" and "awfully bad" in both of them "awfully" means "very"
As was mentioned in a recent thread, the word has its origin in "full of awe" (or "awe inspiring"). Although it is not inherently negative, it came to be used (mostly) as a substitute for "very bad". Phrases such as "awfully nice", depend more on the original meaning (which is now less frequent).
Similar considerations apply to the use of "terribly" as a mere intensifier (more common among Brits than in the colonies). Originally meaning "causing/inspiring terror", "terrible" is mostly negative but there are those who say "He's a terribly nice chap" (meaning, simply "very nice").
"Wonderfully" (full of/inspiring wonder) often used to simply mean "very". e.g. "She's a wonderfully kind person."
Awfull is a synonimos of bad and though you will often hear awfully good and bad said in everyday speech surely it can't be correct gramatically especially the awfully good.
Hello Kissme. You can use the Dictionary tool to find what words mean, like this.
