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
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for direful
Adjective
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Listen to this article A student in North Haven was arrested Monday after allegedly sending a photo of a firearm to a group chat with other students which was accompanied by an ominous message advising them not to go to school.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
28 Jan. 2025 -
Zhu, working with cinematographer Daisy Zhou, stages these scenes with hints of horror; the intimate vantage points are particularly ominous against Eli Keszler’s haunting score.—
Lovia Gyarkye,
The Hollywood Reporter,
26 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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In its place is the Terran Empire, a brutal and colonizing force that encapsulates the terrifying darkness of this alternative world.—
Angelica Jade Bastién,
Vulture,
7 Feb. 2025
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Meanwhile, Irving spent the night venturing off on his own, falling asleep in the forest with terrifying hallucinations.—
Ethan Shanfeld,
Variety,
7 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Director Josh Ruben, along with screenwriters Phillip Murphy, Christopher Landon and Michael Kennedy, craftily concocts a sweetly sinister genre mashup, blending romantic comedy tropes with slasher movie fodder.—
Courtney Howard,
Variety,
31 Jan. 2025
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The typically magnetic Ramírez looms large, delivering a masterful turn as a well-heeled but enigmatically sinister figure who may or may not have his client’s best interest at heart.—
Samantha Bergeson,
IndieWire,
30 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Just a few generations ago, many young children died from infectious diseases, which are still formidable foes globally.—
Brooke Redmond,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
2 Feb. 2025
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The formidable musician and actor, a muse to many but so much more than that moniker allows, a style icon, and a megawatt star of the Swinging Sixties—with the coolest eyewear to match.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
1 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Elsewhere, Oscorp defector Otto Octavius’ (Hugh Dancy) volatile Gamma-fusion designs are finding their way into the hands of some of the city’s most menacing criminals.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
29 Jan. 2025
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And yet, in front of Bulldog legend Marshawn Lynch and a capacity crowd at the program’s gymnasium in North Oakland, both dominated the skies as menacing shot-blockers in a 52-44 victory over Oakland on Friday night.—
Joseph Dycus,
The Mercury News,
24 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Meanwhile the parents had suffered years of horrible harassment and death threats from Jones’ followers.—
Rochelle Eastman,
Twin Cities,
7 Feb. 2025
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The aerospace business is growing at a fast clip, but the warehouse automation business within the industrial automation unit has been horrible.—
Jeff Marks,
CNBC,
6 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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And both situations can, of course, be traced directly to the same source: years of terrible leadership by the commissioners and university presidents that end up hurting the athletes — and passing the cost of doing business onto the fans.—
Jon Wilner,
The Mercury News,
3 Feb. 2025
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But to add to what is at stake, former Chelsea head coach Graham Potter, who struggled to win the crowd over during a terrible seven months in charge in 2022-23, is returning as the opposition’s manager for the first time since he was sacked.—
Simon Johnson,
The Athletic,
3 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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This is all frightening enough — and as the hearing revealed, his bogus theories about AIDS, Lyme disease, and a slew of other public health issues make clear Kennedy is no friend of facts or science, and therefore should be utterly disqualified from HHS secretary.—
S.E. Cupp,
New York Daily News,
29 Jan. 2025
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The statistics on underage drinking are frightening, and alcohol does cause death and injury.—
TJ Hutchinson,
The Denver Post,
28 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 13 Feb. 2025.
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