¹awe

noun \ˈȯ\

: a strong feeling of fear or respect and also wonder

Full Definition of AWE

: an emotion variously combining dread, veneration, and wonder that is inspired by authority or by the sacred or sublime <stood in awe of the king> <regard nature's wonders with awe>

archaic

a : dread, terror

b : the power to inspire dread

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Examples of AWE

Clem gasped in awe. Inches from the shelf stood a column of scrimshaw the likes of which he'd never seen. —Al Michaud, Fantasy & Science Fiction, March 2005
I expected to be impressed by Machu Picchu, but now that we're here, standing in the clouds atop the world, I'm more than impressed—I'm in awe. Machu Picchu is actually better than photographs suggest, more a timeless way station than archaeological ruin. —Patrick J. Kelly, Traveler, May/June 2005
Organs began to appear in American churches early in the eighteenth century. Their glorious tones promised to harmonize cacophonous congregational singers and to inspire worshippers with a reverential sense of awe, bestirring them to moral improvement. —Jonathan D. Sarna, American Judaism, 2004
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Origin of AWE

Middle English, from Old Norse agi; akin to Old English ege awe, Greek achos pain

First Known Use: 13th century

Related to AWE

Synonyms: admiration, amazement, astonishment, wonder, wonderment

Rhymes with AWE

aw, blaw, braw, ca, caw, chaw, claw, craw, daw, draw, flaw, gnaw, haw, jaw, la, law, maw, pa, paw, pshaw, Ra, rah, raw, saw, shah, shaw, slaw, spa, squaw, straw, tau, taw, thaw, yaw

²awe

verb \ˈȯ\

: to fill (someone) with awe

awedaw·ing

Full Definition of AWE

transitive verb

: to inspire or fill with awe <we were awed by the beauty of the mountains>

See awe defined for English-language learners

Examples of AWE

We stood at an impasse. If she thought she was getting my bags, she was nuts. I was still awed that they had actually made it through baggage claim in one piece; there was no way I was parting with them now. —Helene Cooper, The House At Sugar Beach, (2008) 2009
Most relative neophytes are so awed by having been accepted into the priesthood of specialty medicine and so reluctant to cause themselves trouble in the institutions in which they will work for the coming decades that they would be hesitant to risk offending their seniors. —Sherwin B. Nuland, New York Review of Books, 18 July 2002
But even non-birders cannot help but be awed by the significance of the habitat. All around us creatures dart and dive; birds attracted by fish and water, birds drawn by seeds and chaff. Birds with silly names: loons, boobies, cuckoos, goatsuckers. —Clara Jeffery, Harper's, November 2002
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