Aw'ful, a.

a. 1. Striking with awe; filling with profound reverence, or with fear and admiration. “Heaven's awful Monarch.” Milton. 2. Struck or filled with awe. [Obs.] A weak and awful reverence for antiquity. Watts. 3. Frightful; ugly; detestable; as, an awful bonnet; an awful nose. [Vulgar.] Syn.—See FRIGHTFUL.