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direful

[ dahyuh r-fuh l ]

/ ˈdaɪər fəl /

|

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR direful ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

dreadful; awful; terrible.

indicating trouble: direful forecasts.

RELATED WORDS

apocalyptic, appalling, awful, baleful, baneful, calamitous, dreadful, fateful, ghastly, gloomy, ill-boding, inauspicious, ominous, shocking, terrible, terrific, unlucky, unpropitious, horrid

Nearby words

directory, directory assistance, directress, directrix, diredawa, direful, direfully, direly, diremption, direxit, dirge

Origin of direful

First recorded in 1575–85; dire + -ful

Related formsdire·ful·ly, adverbdire·ful·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for direful

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