something awful
A horrific thing
Something awful describes anything extremely unpleasant, disturbing, or of terrible quality: Something awful must have happened—she's been crying for hours.
The phrase often appears as a vague placeholder when the speaker can't or won't specify details: He said something awful to her.
As an intensifier, it emphasizes degree: She misses him something awful.
- terribleExtremely poor or distressing
- dreadfulCausing great fear or suffering
- horrendousExtremely unpleasant or bad
- ghastlyTerrifyingly horrible or pale
- appallingInspiring horror or disgust
abominable · horrific · atrocity · crime against humanity · gruesome · frightful · hopelessness · catastrophe · disgusting · disaster · calamity · wreckage · total disaster · monstrous · trainwreck · car wreck · cruel · ruin