Did you know?
Is the word awesome overused?
Many object to the use of awesome to describe something (such as a sandwich) that does not literally elicit feelings of awe. Yet the same people who insist that awesome should be used only of weighty subjects (Niagara Falls, man landing on the moon) will happily use the word awful in reference to something (such as a mess) that falls distinctly short of being “full of awe.” This weakened sense was once considered improper—in fact, complaints about it persisted through the early decades of the 20th century.
The change in meaning that awesome is undergoing may be more recent than that of awful, but both words are treading the same path. For evidence that such change is normal, we need look no further than awe, which originally meant “terror” and now carries the weaker sense “wonder.”
Examples of awesome in a Sentence
Gordon G. Chang, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Apr. 2025
Weather conditions, though, are in the hands of Mother Nature — so hope for no rain, fog or haze that could negatively hinder the awesome view of the comet in the night.
—Skyler Caruso, People.com, 8 Apr. 2025
Jon Scheyer is awesome, but don’t sleep on Houston.
—Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 7 Apr. 2025
This match was all kinds of awesome at its peak, which saw one death-defying dive after another.
—Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for awesome
Cite this Entry
“Awesome.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/awesome. Accessed 14 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
awesome
adjective
Share