direful

[ dahyuh r-fuh l ]

/ ˈdaɪər fəl /

dreadful; awful; terrible.

indicating trouble: direful forecasts.

Nearby words

First recorded in 1575–85; dire + -ful

dire·ful·ly, adverbdire·ful·ness, noun

His ready mind harked forward to direful emergencies, and he submitted devices for meeting these.
Ewing\'s Lady|Harry Leon Wilson
But this plan only ended in creating discord, and the consequences were direful in the extreme.
Fire and Sword in the Sudan|Rudolf C. Slatin
It was he who had forgotten to tell me this, and to me it was the most direful news of all.
The Little Minister|J. M. Barrie
What if night should overtake them, bringing to pass the policeman's direful prediction?
Rosa's Quest|Anna Potter Wright

They were equals in this direful, unlovely place; royal prejudice stood for nothing here.
Truxton King|George Barr McCutcheon