grauenhaft
awful
Informal for extremely bad, terrible, or of very low quality.
EXAMPLE
Das Essen in diesem Restaurant war einfach grauenhaft.
The food in this restaurant was simply awful.
grauenhaft
awful
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Meanings
grauenhaft
horrifying
Causing horror, shock, or fear; terrible and dreadful.
EXAMPLE
Nach dem Erdbeben bot sich den Helfern ein grauenhafter Anblick.
After the earthquake, the aid workers were faced with a horrifying sight.
Usage tips
Word family
The adjective 'grauenhaft' (awful/horrifying) is derived from the noun 'das Grauen' (horror, dread). So it literally describes something so bad that it causes horror.
EXAMPLE
Beim Anblick der Zerstörung erfasste ihn das Grauen.
At the sight of the destruction, he was seized by horror.
Informal use
In colloquial speech, 'grauenhaft' (awful) is often used as a strong exaggeration for 'very bad.' It then does not describe real danger, but only very poor quality, for example with food, weather, or music.
EXAMPLE
Ich fand den Film grauenhaft langweilig.
I found the film awfully boring.
Context clue
You can tell from the context whether the exaggerated meaning (bad food) or the literal meaning (accident) is meant. Is it an everyday, subjective judgment or an objectively terrible event?
EXAMPLE
Seine neue Frisur ist einfach grauenhaft.
His new haircut is simply awful.
Compare with
grauenhaft vs furchtbar
terrible
Furchtbar can be used as a colloquial intensifier without evaluating the thing itself more closely. Grauenhaft, by contrast, describes a clearly negative, extremely bad, or horrifying quality. Use furchtbar with another adjective when you mainly want to express intensity, and grauenhaft for a strongly negative overall judgment.
grauenhaft
Die Wartezeit war grauenhaft.
The wait was awful.
furchtbar
Die Wartezeit war furchtbar lang.
The wait was terribly long.
In real life
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