awful

«awful» in Mova's judaism dictionary: very bad or unpleasant: awful weather, an awful smell — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

adjective (awful, more awful, most awful); adverb (informal, US: awful nice)

meaning for a pupil

1) Awful means very bad or unpleasant: awful weather, an awful smell. tree →

2) If you feel awful, you feel ill or very unhappy or guilty. tree →

3) (informal) «An awful lot» means a very large amount. tree →

4) In old writing, awful meant «full of awe», very impressive and frightening. tree →

sense in the lessons

In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: In old English it means filled with awe, causing deep respect and fear. It is a good thing here, not "bad". Interpretation: It describes God as great, mighty and awesome. It is also used for the glorious and awful Name. Jewish tradition treats God's Name with great reverence, and Jews do not say it aloud. In the primary lessons: In everyday talk and stories it is a strong word for bad experiences. In writing lessons, teachers may ask pupils to use more exact words than «awful» (terrible, disgusting, dreadful, horrid). Phrases: «an awful lot», «feel awful», «look awful», «that's awful».

examples

• Thou shalt not be affrighted at them; for the LORD thy God is in the midst of thee, a God great and awful. (Torah DEU.7.21, JPS 1917) tree →
• For the LORD your God, He is God of gods, and Lord of lords, the great God, the mighty, and the awful, who regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward. (Torah DEU.10.17, JPS 1917) tree →
• If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and awful Name, the LORD thy God; (Torah DEU.28.58, JPS 1917) tree →
• Let them praise Thy name as great and awful; Holy is He. (Writings PSA.99.3, JPS 1917) tree →
• For the LORD is most high, awful; a great King over all the earth. (Writings PSA.47.3, JPS 1917) tree →
• He hath sent redemption unto His people; He hath commanded His covenant for ever; Holy and awful is His name. (Writings PSA.111.9, JPS 1917) tree →
• The weather was awful, so we stayed inside. tree →
• This medicine tastes awful. tree →
• I feel awful — I think I have a cold. tree →
• I felt awful about breaking her pencil. tree →
• There is an awful lot of homework this week. tree →
• What an awful smell! tree →
• The traffic was awful on the way to school. tree →
• That's awful news; I'm sorry. tree →

note

One l at the end: awful (not «awfull»). Adverb: awfully (very: «awfully kind»). In US speech «awful» can mean «very» («awful big»), but in writing use «awfully» or «very». The old meaning connects to «awe» and «awesome», which now means great — so «awful» and «awesome» have become opposites.

In the corpora

• For the LORD is most high, awful; a great King over all the earth.
• Let them praise Thy name as great and awful; Holy is He.
• He hath sent redemption unto His people; He hath commanded His covenant for ever; Holy and awful is His name.
• At bedtime Mum explains he had an awful week at work, and Dad comes up and says, "Sorry, mate.
• What made you tell that awful fib to your wife?»

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «awful» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.