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Oppressing with fear or horror; appalling; terrible; as, an awful scene. "The hour of Nature's awful throes." Hemans.

In an awful manner; in a manner to fill with terror or awe; fearfully; reverently.

The quality of striking with awe, or with reverence; dreadfulness; solemnity; as, the awfulness of this sacred place. The awfulness of grandeur. Johnson.

Constituted or authorized by law; rightful; as, the lawful owner of lands. Lawful age, the age when the law recognizes one's right of independent action; majority; -- generally the age of twenty-one years.

Awful, or reverential, in an excessive degree. [R.] Milton.

Not lawful; contrary to law. -- Un*law"ful*ly, adv. -- Un*law"ful*ness, n. Unlawful assembly. (Law) See under Assembly.

Ill-tempered. [Obs.] Chaucer.

ity; to put to shame; to disconcert; to discomfit. Abashed, the devil stood, And felt how awful goodness is. Milton. He was a man whom no check could abash. Macaulay.

being accountable; liability to be called on to render an account; accountableness. "The awful idea of accountability." R. Hall.

roper to be, or capable of being, allowed; permissible; admissible; not forbidden; not unlawful or improper; as, a certain degree of freedom is allowable among friends.

The quality of being allowable; permissibleness; lawfulness; exemption from prohibition or impropriety. South.

Love making; a love affair; usually, an unlawful connection in love; a love intrigue; an illicit love affair. In amours with, in love with. [Obs.]

To make an assault upon, as by a sudden rush of armed men; to attack with unlawful or insulting physical violence or menaces. Insnared, assaulted, overcome, led bound. Milton.

Causing awe; appalling; awful; as, an awesome sight. Wright.

Begotten and born out of lawful matrimony; illegitimate. See Bastard, n., note.

The law is so indulgent as not to bastardize the child, if born, though not begotten, in lawful wedlock. Blackstone.

The unlawful beating of another. It includes every willful, angry and violent, or negligent touching of another's person or clothes, or anything attached to his person or held by him.

To tread, as a path. Pass awful gulfs, and beat my painful way. Blackmore.

The seat where judges sit in court. To pluck down justice from your awful bench. Shak.

the thing that is to be avoided. Beware of all, but most beware of man ! Pope. Beware the awful avalanche. Longfellow.