Word
awe
US/ˈɑ/
UK/ˈɔː/
Definitions
01wonder and respect
n. a feeling of great respect and wonder, often because something is very beautiful, large, or powerful.
n. a feeling of profound respect mixed with wonder, typically inspired by something majestic, sublime, or extremely powerful.
“We stood in awe as we looked up at the millions of stars in the night sky.”
“The tourists gazed in silent awe at the ancient cathedral, overwhelmed by the scale of the architecture and the history it represented.”
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02fearful respect
n. a feeling of respect mixed with fear, usually toward someone with great power.
n. a sense of solemn wonder or dread inspired by authority or divine power.
“The soldiers held their commander in awe and never questioned his orders.”
“In many ancient texts, the gods are described as beings that inspire both love and a terrifying awe in their followers.”
Literary
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English aw, awe, agh, awȝe, borrowed from Old Norse agi, from Proto-Germanic agaz (“terror, dread”), from Proto-Indo-European h₂egʰ- (“to be upset, afraid”). Displaced native Middle English eye, eyȝe, ayȝe, eȝȝe, from Old English ege, æge (“fear, terror, dread”), from the same Proto-Germanic root.
From French auve.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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englishreference.com/q/awe