a. 1. Oppressing with fear or horror; appalling; terrible; as, an awful scene. “The hour of Nature's awful throes.” Hemans. [ 1913 Webster ]
2. Inspiring awe; filling with profound reverence, or with fear and admiration; fitted to inspire reverential fear; profoundly impressive. [ 1913 Webster ]
Heaven's awful Monarch. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]
3. Struck or filled with awe; terror-stricken. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]
A weak and awful reverence for antiquity. I. Watts. [ 1913 Webster ]
4. Worshipful; reverential; law-abiding. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]
Thrust from the company of awful men. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]
5. Frightful; exceedingly bad; great; -- applied intensively; as, an awful bonnet; an awful boaster. [ Slang ] [ 1913 Webster ]
Syn. -- See Frightful. [ 1913 Webster ]