Main entry: horrendous, horrific, awful, dire, direful, dread, dreaded, dreadful, frightening, fearful, fearsome, terrible
Definition: causing fear or dread or terror
Usage: the awful war; an awful risk; dire news; a career or vengeance so direful that London was shocked; the dread presence of the headmaster; polio is no longer the dreaded disease it once was; a dreadful storm; a fearful howling; horrendous explosions shook the city; a terrible curse
Main entry: abominable, atrocious, awful, unspeakable, painful, terrible, dreadful
Definition: exceptionally bad or displeasing
Usage: atrocious taste; abominable workmanship; an awful voice; dreadful manners; a painful performance; terrible handwriting; an unspeakable odor came sweeping into the room
Main entry: awe-inspiring, awesome, awful, awing, amazing
Definition: inspiring awe or admiration or wonder
Usage: New York is an amazing city; the Grand Canyon is an awe-inspiring sight; the awesome complexity of the universe; this sea, whose gently awful stirrings seem to speak of some hidden soul beneath- Melville; Westminster Hall's awing majesty, so vast, so high, so silent
Definition: offensive or even (of persons) malicious
Usage: in a nasty mood; a nasty accident; a nasty shock; a nasty smell; a nasty trick to pull; Will he say nasty things at my funeral?- Ezra Pound
Main entry: awful, frightful, tremendous, terrible
Definition: extreme in degree or extent or amount or impact
Usage: in a frightful hurry; spent a frightful amount of money
Definition: inspired by a feeling of fearful wonderment or reverence
Usage: awed by the silence; awful worshippers with bowed heads
Main entry: frightfully, awful, awfully, terribly
Definition: used as intensifiers
Usage: terribly interesting; I'm awful sorry