awful: meaning and words from its letters
5 letters · 11 letter points · starts with A · ends with L
Meaning of awful
adj
Very bad.
Example: The smell of my socks is awful.
Exceedingly great; usually applied intensively.
Example: I have learnt an awful amount today.
- Ireland, especially
Prone to a particular temptation.
- dated
Causing fear or horror; appalling, terrible.
Listed forms: awfuller, awfullest, awfull, aweful, awefull.
Source: Wiktionary — awful.
adv
- colloquial, not-comparable
Awfully; dreadfully; terribly.
- Canada, US, colloquial, not-comparable
Very, extremely.
Example: That's an awful big house.
Listed forms: awfull, aweful, awefull.
Source: Wiktionary — awful.
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki.org. Selected senses and forms; quotations omitted. Definition text is CC BY-SA 4.0.
Synonyms by meaning
Words are grouped by sense, so they are not necessarily interchangeable in every context. Search synonyms for awful.
adjective
exceptionally bad or displeasing
adjective
causing fear or dread or terror
adjective
offensive or even (of persons) malicious
adjective
inspired by a feeling of fearful wonderment or reverence
Open English WordNet Team, 2025, derived from Princeton University WordNet; selected synonym groups under CC BY 4.0. Source · OEWN notice · Princeton notice.
Is awful in our word lists?
| Word list | Status |
|---|---|
| American English | Found |
| British English | Found |
| Extended English | Found |
These are spelling-list matches, not official game validity checks. Check the rules and dictionary used by your game.
Letter-value score of awful
A(1) + W(4) + F(4) + U(1) + L(1) = 11 points.
This is a sum of letter values without board bonuses or word multipliers. A blank tile is worth zero: subtract the value of each letter supplied by a blank. The score does not establish game validity. Full letter-value table.
Anagrams of awful
0 other standard-list words use exactly these letters, including repeated letters.
No other single-word anagram was found in our standard list.
Shorter words from awful
10 shorter standard-list words can be made using no letter more often than it occurs in awful. Showing up to 24, longest first.