“Awfully smart” is about all you can hear (9)

I believe the answer is:

fearfully

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'awfully' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

I cannot understand how the remainder of the clue works.

(Other definitions for fearfully that I've seen before include "In a frightened manner" , "Very (literally, in frightened style)" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.

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