1
as in ominous
being or showing a sign of evil or calamity to come
the stock market crash was the first direful indication of the dark days to come
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in terrifying
causing fear
heard the direful howling of the wolves during the night
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for direful
Adjective
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His bruises caught by the window’s light, his good side cast in ominous shadow, Martian’s focus shifts from the people on the other side of the glass to the man staring back at him in it.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
24 Jan. 2025 -
The second season of The Night Agent shows Peter on the other end of the line for that ominous White House basement phone.—
Emily Blackwood,
People.com,
23 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The stability and flexibility around Josh Allen makes for a terrifying formula.—
Derrik Klassen,
The Athletic,
15 Jan. 2025
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What’s more terrifying than losing control of your physical and mental self as your most primal, animalistic instincts take the wheel?—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
15 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The Alaska story represents Perkins’ tireless brainstorming of ways to help and also, perhaps, her blind spot to a more sinister history of American settler colonialism.—
Sara Georgini,
Smithsonian Magazine,
21 Jan. 2025
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After Season 1 introduced viewers to the offbeat, sinister world of Lumon Industries, the Innies that make up its workforce, and the Outies compartmentalizing their lives, Season 2 is now unfolding deeper, stranger intricacies that speak to how corporations deal with dissenters.—
Harrison Richlin,
IndieWire,
19 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Despite this, in 1980, in a turning point that helped give rise to the formidable power of the New Right, Reagan continued to lean heavily on the Panama issue in his successful campaign against Carter.—
Julie Greene / Made by History,
TIME,
22 Jan. 2025
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When Judkins’ 70-yard run set up his 1-yard scoring run for a 28-7 lead, Leonard and the Fighting Irish faced a formidable deficit that couldn’t be addressed on more quarterback keepers.—
Charles Odum,
Chicago Tribune,
21 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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That inter-zone between the two is where Lynch lived his entire professional life: in his paintings and writings, shorts and TV shows, and even his daily online weather reports, which somehow took on both a boyish and a menacing quality.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
16 Jan. 2025
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The first of them holds all of the story’s promise, as a tense prologue introduces us to a pre-teen kid named Blake, whose military-like father (Sam Jaeger, all menacing toxic machismo) is hell-bent upon teaching his son how to survive the world on his own.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
15 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Given this area’s rich history with horrible weather and big events at this time of year, there is still a chance that the Cotton Bowl will be postponed until Saturday.—
Mac Engel,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
9 Jan. 2025
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How horrible for my sweet little nephews to watch their house disappear like this.—
Becca Longmire,
People.com,
8 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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While this is terrible for the environment, customer satisfaction, and retailers’ bottom lines, the truth is the industry has created a monster and easy and free returns have become the basic consumer expectation.—
Steve Dennis,
Forbes,
22 Jan. 2025
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Gerulaitis’s gallows humour deflects from the fact that his terrible records against Connors and Borg took a big toll on his confidence.—
Charlie Eccleshare,
The Athletic,
22 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Listen to this article California’s blazing wildfires and last year’s destructive hurricanes in the Southeast are frightening examples of the dramatic impacts of climate change.—
Adriana Pérez,
Chicago Tribune,
20 Jan. 2025
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Coming full circle, the FBI also warned users to beware this frightening new threat in a special advisory last month.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes,
18 Jan. 2025
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Thesaurus Entries Near direful
Cite this Entry
“Direful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/direful. Accessed 28 Jan. 2025.
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