Why does the word awful not mean "full of awe", which is the perpetual state we should all strive to attain. Oh, wait, it does...Check out these entries from
Dictionary.com:
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aw·ful
–adjective
1. extremely bad; unpleasant; ugly:
awful paintings; an awful job.
2. inspiring fear; dreadful; terrible:
an awful noise.
3. solemnly impressive; inspiring awe:
the awful majesty of alpine peaks.
4. full of awe; reverential.
5. extremely dangerous, risky, injurious, etc.:
That was an awful fall she had. He took an awful chance by driving here so fast.
–adverb
6. Informal . very; extremely:
He did an awful good job of painting the barn. It's awful hot in here.
—Usage note
Although some object to any use of awful or awfully in any sense not connected with a feeling of awe, both have been used in other senses for several centuries. Awful and awfully as adverbial intensifiers — awful(ly) hot; awful(ly) cold — appear in the early 19th century, following much the same pattern as horribly and dreadfully. As an adverb awful is less formal in tone than awfully. In the sense “inspiring awe or fear” awesome has largely replaced awful.
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I don't know of any other word with two valid yet almost diametrically opposed meanings.
So I feel awful that I haven't shared anything with you for the last few weeks, but I've been awfully busy adding photos to my webalbums.
another photo of the lighthouse in Port Charlotte, one of my favourite subjects on the Scottish island of Islay...you'll probably see many iterations on this theme, both mine and others
the Sound of Islay, looking toward Jura from Port Askaig
the port of Ullapool, Scotland, where the ferry leaves for Stornoway on the Outer Hebridean island of Lewis
Loch Seaforth from Bowglass, the land border between the Outer Hebridean
islands of Harris and Lewis, Scotland. It's an unusual geographic
division, being just a river instead of the expected open water strait
between two islands