awfully
Americanadverb
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very; extremely.
That was awfully nice of you. He's awfully slow.
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in a manner provoking censure, disapproval, or the like.
She behaved awfully all evening.
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Archaic.
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in a manner inspiring awe.
shouting awfully the dreaded curse.
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in a manner expressing awe.
to stare awfully.
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adverb
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in an unpleasant, bad, or reprehensible manner
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informal (intensifier)
I'm awfully keen to come
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archaic so as to express or inspire awe
Commonly Confused
See awful.
Etymology
Origin of awfully
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It's an Old Firm derby, but not as we've known it for an awfully long time.
From BBC
The next visitor we had came awfully close to messing up everything.
From Literature
Life would be awfully grim and glum if I couldn’t laugh at myself.
From Literature
“We’re getting awfully close to the 11th hour when it comes to bargaining.”
From MarketWatch
“We are awfully close to the airport,” Mom murmured.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
