Awfulize

Awfulize is slang that means to excessively focus on or exaggerate negative aspects or potential negative outcomes of a situation or experience. It involves magnifying the negative aspects while minimizing or ignoring the positive aspects.

When someone awfulizes, they tend to overthink and dwell on the worst-case scenarios, making a situation seem worse than it actually is. It can lead to unnecessary anxiety, fear, and pessimism.

Example 1: “Stop awfulizing every time we have a minor setback. It’s not the end of the world.”
Example 2: “She always awfulizes about flying, imagining all the things that could go wrong, even though statistics show it’s a safe mode of transportation.”