Abysmal vs Awful - What's the difference?
abysmal | awful |
(now, rare) Pertaining to, or resembling an abyss; unending; profound; fathomless; immeasurable.
* Carlyle
(figurative, colloquial) Bottomless; extremely bad.
* {{quote-news, year=2012
, date=June 9
, author=Owen Phillips
, title=Euro 2012: Netherlands 0-1 Denmark
, work=BBC Sport
Oppressing with fear or horror; appalling, terrible.
Inspiring awe; filling with profound reverence or respect; profoundly impressive.
*, I.56:
* 1819 , Lord Byron, Don Juan , II.143:
Struck or filled with awe.
(obsolete) Terror-stricken.
Worshipful; reverential; law-abiding.
Exceedingly great; usually applied intensively.
Very bad.
(colloquial) Very, extremely; as, an awful big house.
As adjectives the difference between abysmal and awful
is that abysmal is pertaining to, or resembling an abyss; unending; profound; fathomless; immeasurable while awful is oppressing with fear or horror; appalling, terrible.As an adverb awful is
very, extremely; as, an awful big house.abysmal
English
Adjective
(en adjective)- Geology gives one the same abysmal extent of time that astronomy does of space.
citation, page= , passage=Robben curled an effort against the foot of the post from the edge of the box after being gifted the ball by an abysmal clearance from keeper Stephan Andersen.}}
Usage notes
* Nouns to which "abysmal" is often applied: ignorance, record, performance, poverty, conditions, quality, perplexity, result, and failure.References
External links
* *awful
English
Alternative forms
* awfull (archaic)Adjective
(en-adj)- God ought not to be commixed in our actions, but with awful reverence, and an attention full of honour and respect.
- And then she stopped, and stood as if in awe / (For sleep is awful ).
- an awful bonnet
- I have learnt an awful amount today.
- My socks smell awful .