awfulnesses

Noun

awfulness (usually uncountable, plural awfulnesses)

1. (usually) The state or quality of being awful.
   • Out came old Teenie, buzzing mad as a whole nest of wasps. Muttered awfulnesses came from her great padded bonnet.1942, Emily Carr, “Characters”, in The Book of Small, Toronto, Ont.: Oxford University Press, →OCLC
2. (usually) The quality of striking with awe, or with reverence
   • […] the knocking at the gate, which succeeds to the murder of Duncan, produced to my feelings an effect for which I could never account: the effect was—that it reflected back upon the murder a peculiar awfulness and a depth of solemnity […]1823, Thomas de Quincey, “On the Knocking at the Gate in Macbeth”, in Robert Morrison, editor, On Murder, Oxford World's Classics, published 2006, page 3

   Synonyms:

   dreadfulness, solemnity

3. (usually) The state of being struck with awe; a spirit of solemnity; profound reverence.