Skip to main content
godawful

godawful

4 8.2
Very bad and unpleasant, of poor quality
  • adjective
  • /ɡɑːˈdɔːfəl/
  • Informal
: horrible
  • The movie was so bad that it was truly godawful and unwatchable.
  • a godawful mess
  • a godawful thing
  • the most godawful

Examples

  • One thing is for sure, though, we are godawful at shooting the 3-point shot.

    Blog text (21)
  • "Thank God this godawful workweek is over," sandy-haired twenty-four-year-old Chris exclaimed.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • - It would just be so nice after everything that happened to put this godawful day and ourselves to bed.

  • So godawful to wake up, find yourself all alone...

  • Have you ever tried to understand anybody who talked with that godawful thing?

    Fiction book (1997)
  • And you lose those godawful boots.

  • For herself... for Henessey... for this Godawful planet, and everything else.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • I loved your father dearly, but he was a godawful dancer.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Were the Nissan Leaf not so godawful ugly, it would have been in the running as well.

    Blog text (20)
  • Don't freeze any valuable body parts while celebrating out in this godawful weather.

    Fiction book (1991)

Synonyms

terrible
vsgodawful
∞ 1.0

Very bad or unpleasant and often serious

is the everyday strong negative term focusing on severe badness
horrible
vsgodawful
∞ 1.5

Very bad or frightening in a way that makes you feel upset

means extreme poor quality but without horror or shocking effect
awful
vsgodawful
914 1.0

Very bad or unpleasant and causing dislike

is the general extreme bad quality label without the offensive focus
lousy
vsgodawful
  • Informal
421 4.1

Very bad or mean and not liked by people

is the intense negative term but without the implied moral dislike
rotten
vsgodawful
191 1.0

Very bad and unpleasant to experience

is the broader extreme badness term used across contexts
crappy
vsgodawful
  • NSFW
187 7.5

Very bad or of low quality

is a strong negative adjective used both formally and informally
horrendous
vsgodawful
79 7.0

Very shocking and scary, causing fear or disgust

expresses extreme badness without the built in shock or horror
crummy
vsgodawful
  • Informal
56 6.7

Low quality and unpleasant

is the stronger extreme badness term used more widely
horrid
vsgodawful
47 4.1

A very unpleasant thing that shocks or disgusts you

is the strong bad quality term without the horror emphasis
wretched
vsgodawful
46 5.7

In very bad condition and of very poor quality

is the straightforward extreme badness term without emotional tone
ghastly
vsgodawful
41 6.8

Causing great fear and shock, often like death or ghosts

describes extreme poor quality without implying horror or the supernatural
pitiful
vsgodawful
36 3.9

So bad or weak that people feel angry and look down on it

is the blunt extreme badness term without the pitying emotional tone
deplorable
vsgodawful
34 6.8

Very bad and unacceptable, deserving strong criticism

is the severe badness term but less focused on moral shock
hellish
vsgodawful
27 6.1

Very unpleasant and painful, like being in hell

means extreme poor quality without implying evil or helllike states
atrocious
vsgodawful
27 7.0

Being very bad and of low quality

is used more in everyday strong speech than formal tone
abysmal
vsgodawful
26 7.1

Very bad or of poor quality

is similar but does not focus on extreme depth or extent
abominable
vsgodawful
26 7.2

Very bad or morally wrong so people strongly dislike it

focuses on intense poor quality rather than moral wrongness
woeful
vsgodawful
5 5.5

Very bad in quality or condition

is the general extreme badness term not stressing inadequacy
poopie
vsgodawful
  • Informal
2 9.2

An informal word used to say something is bad or low quality

is a strong neutral term used across contexts not childish in tone
dreadful
vsgodawful
1 4.3

A very bad or shocking thing, often a poor story

is the general extreme badness term not tied to sensationalism
really sucky
vsgodawful
  • Slang
1 8.4

Very bad and disappointing to experience

is the strong negative adjective used also in formal contexts
really yucky
vsgodawful
  • Informal
1 7.4

Very unpleasant to see, smell, taste, or touch

is the strong broad badness term without childish disgust tone
like shit on toast
vsgodawful
  • Offensive
9.9

Something that is very bad and unpleasant

is the strong negative adjective used more broadly and less vulgar
pure shitpiss
vsgodawful
  • Offensive
9.9

A thing that is very bad and not worth having

is the intense extreme badness term without coarse vulgarity

Antonyms

∞ 1.0

Very good and better than most similar things

111 3.5

Of very high quality and extremely good

How Bad

godawful
  • Informal
4 8.2
atrocious
7 7.6
horrible
∞ 1.5
terrible
∞ 1.0
awful
914 1.0
bad
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

godawful positive

Morphology

godawful = god + awful (transparent) = god + awful

The modern sense 'extremely bad' is a straightforward intensification of 'awful' by 'god', so learners who know 'awful' will usually infer the intensified negative meaning.

Etymology

Godawful comes from God plus awful, and awful once meant 'full of awe' or 'very impressive', like the word awe. Over time that strong idea changed to dislike, so godawful now usually means 'extremely bad'.