That was an awful fall she had. He took an awful chance by driving here so fast.
adverb
6.
Informal. very; extremely:
He did an awful good job of painting the barn. It's awful hot in here.
Origin
1200-50;Middle Englisha(g)heful, aueful; see awe, -ful; replacing Old Englishegefull dreadful
Related forms
awfulness, noun
quasi-awful, adjective
quasi-awfully, adverb
unawful, adjective
unawfulness, noun
Can be confused
awful, awesome, offal (see usage note at the current entry)
Usage note
Although some object to any use of awful or awfully in any sense not connected with a feeling of awe, both have been used in other senses for several centuries. Awful and awfully as adverbial intensifiers—awful(ly)hot; awful(ly)cold—appear in the early 19th century, following much the same pattern as horribly anddreadfully. As an adverb awful is less formal in tone than awfully. In the sense “inspiring awe or fear” awesome has largely replaced awful.
Examples from the web for awful
Everything was quiet except for the awful spoon against the awful pot.
The tastes of the viewing public is just disgraceful with all the awful, awful reality shows that get higher ratings.
His eyes were awful, all lit up and burning.
Like a variation of those awful commercials, they've fallen, but they can get up.
But for the species—including our own—who occupy Earth's surface, the planet's vitality can be awful as well as awesome.
There's been an awful lot of activity in the past few months.
Fisher found his cabin too hot, the menus elaborate, the food awful.
Murky flashbacks provide a progressively more detailed picture of the awful crime from generations ago.
Yes, malaria is awful.
The cellular damage takes an awful toll.
British Dictionary definitions for awful
awful
/ˈɔːfʊl/
adjective
1.
very bad; unpleasant
2.
(archaic) inspiring reverence or dread
3.
(archaic) overcome with awe; reverential
adverb
4.
(not standard) (intensifier): an awful cold day
Derived Forms
awfulness, noun
Word Origin
C13: see awe, -ful
Word Origin and History for awful
adj.
c.1300, agheful "worthy of respect or fear," from aghe, an earlier form of awe (n.), + -ful. Replaced Old English egefull. Weakened sense "very bad" is from 1809; weakened sense of "exceedingly" is by 1818.