direful
Americanadjective
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dreadful; awful; terrible.
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indicating trouble.
direful forecasts.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of direful
Vocabulary lists containing direful
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
As Sumner proclaimed, “in the holds of those two ships were concealed the germs of the present direful war.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026
I always say there is something direful in that sound.'
From BBC • Sep. 22, 2014
Sure, if by dangerous you mean significantly riskier than cars but slightly less direful than motorcycles.
From Slate • Sep. 3, 2014
Pliny the Elder not only considered lightning direful, but noticed it often accompanied volcanic eruptions.
From The Guardian • May 25, 2013
But at this direful moment she who had awakened no compassion in mortals or immortals was pitied by the tiniest creatures of the field, the little ants, the swift-runners.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
