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  awestruck awhile  
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   The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition.  2000.
 
awful
 
SYLLABICATION:aw·ful
PRONUNCIATION:  ôfl
ADJECTIVE:1. Extremely bad or unpleasant; terrible: had an awful day at the office. 2. Commanding awe: “this sea, whose gently awful stirrings seem to speak of some hidden soul beneath” (Herman Melville). 3. Filled with awe, especially: a. Filled with or displaying great reverence. b. Obsolete Afraid. 4. Formidable in nature or extent: an awful burden; an awful risk.
ADVERB: Informal Extremely; very: was awful sick.
ETYMOLOGY:Middle English aweful, awe-inspiring, blend of awe, awe; see awe, and *ayfull, awful (from Old English egefull ( ege, dread + -full, -ful).
OTHER FORMS:awful·ly —ADVERB
awful·ness —NOUN
 
 
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

CONTENTS · INDEX · ILLUSTRATIONS · BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD
  awestruck awhile  
 
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