What does awing mean?
Awing is the present participle of the verb 'awe', meaning to fill a person with a profound mixture of wonder, reverence, and amazement. When something is described as awing, it overwhelms the observer — a mountain range at dawn, a virtuoso performance, a vast cathedral interior — producing a hushed, humbled response rather than mere delight. The word carries a formal, literary tone: writers reach for it when ordinary praise like 'impressive' feels too small for the effect being described. Because 'awe' itself blends admiration with a hint of fear or insignificance before something immense, awing connotes grandeur on a scale that dwarfs the beholder. In modern usage the adjective forms 'awesome' and 'awe-inspiring' have largely absorbed the verb's work, so the participle appears mostly in descriptive prose and narrative writing rather than casual conversation.
verb (present participle)Present participle of the verb 'awe': to fill someone with a feeling of reverential respect mixed with wonder or amazement.
- Filling someone with wonder, reverence, or amazement (present participle of 'awe').
- The act of inspiring such feelings in others — often used with an object, as in 'awing the audience'.
"The cathedral's soaring vaults left the visitors awing in silence."
"The northern lights hung overhead, awing everyone on the frozen shore."
"She spoke quietly, yet her mastery of the subject was awing her students."
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of awing
Awing derives from 'awe', which entered Middle English from Old Norse 'agi' (fear, terror), replacing the native Old English 'ege'. Originally denoting dread or terror, 'awe' gradually softened over the centuries into reverential wonder — the shift visible from the 17th century onward, notably in Milton's writing about the sublime. Its cognates include the Scandinavian descendants of Old Norse 'agi', and it shares deep roots with the Germanic word behind 'agony' via Greek 'agon' (struggle, contest), reflecting the same primal sense of overwhelming force.
Related word forms
How awing is actually used
Formal and somewhat literary register; far more common in its participial adjectival relatives ('awe-inspiring', 'awesome') than as a bare verb form. In everyday speech people more often say 'amazed' or 'wowed' than 'awed'.
Easily confused with awing
'Owing' means due or unpaid as a debt, whereas 'awing' is the act of filling someone with wonder.
An 'awning' is a canvas sheet used as a shelter, while 'awing' describes inspiring awe; the extra 'n' marks a completely different noun.