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Synonym Chooser

How is the word baleful different from other adjectives like it?

The words malign and sinister are common synonyms of baleful. While all three words mean "seriously threatening evil or disaster," baleful imputes perniciousness or destructiveness to something whether working openly or covertly.

exerting a corrupt and baleful influence

In what contexts can malign take the place of baleful?

The words malign and baleful are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, malign applies to what is inherently evil or harmful.

the malign effects of racism

When would sinister be a good substitute for baleful?

The words sinister and baleful can be used in similar contexts, but sinister suggests a general or vague feeling of fear or apprehension on the part of the observer.

a sinister aura haunts the place

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of baleful The baleful stare that was such a part of Foreman’s first act as a boxer and public personality was missing, replaced by a look of mischief. Jerry McDonald, The Mercury News, 26 Mar. 2025 But Donald Trump’s tariff attacks on Canada—and, even more, his insistence that the country should be incorporated as the fifty-first state—may halt this slow drift into the United States’ baleful orbit, at least for now. Bill McKibben, The New Yorker, 7 Mar. 2025 Women are thought of as contaminants in the heya and arm candy outside it; the sponsors exert a baleful commercial pressure on the fighters. Jesse Green, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2025 At another, this baleful ribbon emanates from the shell of a totaled BMW 325iS, the very model of car once associated in the region with gang terror — elsewhere shown cruising and spinning on dusty roads, like urban harbingers of doom amid rural tranquility. Guy Lodge, Variety, 23 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for baleful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for baleful
Adjective
  • In a small 18th-century English village, locals hear ominous barking.
    Shannon Carlin, Time, 22 May 2025
  • There’s a shift in the second to last episode when Michaela suddenly becomes not ridiculous or ominous, but self-aware and human and someone who very clearly sees what a fraud her life has been.
    Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 22 May 2025
Adjective
  • Mowing too little or too much can have adverse consequences for the health of the lawn and can also encourage unwanted plants to grow.
    Lauren David, Southern Living, 11 May 2025
  • Health care providers and consumers who experience adverse reactions are encouraged to report them through the FDA's MedWatch program.
    Anna Skinner, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 May 2025
Adjective
  • Oscar Franklin Smith is set to be executed by lethal injection for the 1989 murder of his estranged wife, 35-year-old Judith Robirds Smith, and her sons.
    Fernando Cervantes Jr, USA Today, 22 May 2025
  • The last electrocution was in 1990, the method has been lethal injection since that time.
    Ray Hanley, Arkansas Online, 21 May 2025
Adjective
  • Though it was written around the time of Malibu’s Woolsey fire, the 14-minute long dirge that encompasses flames in Malibu and a cougar that roams the hills took on a new and sinister meaning in the aftermath of the more recent fires.
    Chris Willman, Variety, 19 May 2025
  • With the two men mismatched in temperament and direction, Diller was gone in a year and a half—fleeing one sinister Davis (Martin) for the arms of another, equally sinister one (Marvin), who controlled Twentieth Century Fox.
    Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 19 May 2025
Adjective
  • Located in the stratosphere, the ozone layer acts like sunscreen, blocking potentially harmful ultraviolet energy from reaching our planet's surface.
    Doyle Rice, USA Today, 20 May 2025
  • Viscose usually requires harsh chemicals, but these sheets are Oeko-Tex certified, which means they're made without harmful chemicals and pesticides.
    Nena Farrell, Wired News, 19 May 2025
Adjective
  • Meanwhile, Russia is making steady gains in Ukraine, and Putin is preparing a summer offensive that could be the deadliest of the war so far, an expert has assessed.
    Isabel van Brugen, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 May 2025
  • Drone video shows tornadoes' damage in Kentucky morning after deadly storms 01:30 4.
    Jade Walker, CNN Money, 19 May 2025
Adjective
  • If the sky becomes menacing and thunder becomes audible, seek out a safe place to seek shelter.
    NC Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 17 May 2025
  • The movie itself is something of a trip; everything feels coated in a faint, menacing sheen of unreality, as if a slasher movie were just a wild twist or two away.
    Justin Chang, New Yorker, 16 May 2025
Adjective
  • The multitrillion-dollar GOP tax bill could have detrimental impacts on decarbonization efforts in the U.S., according to energy experts.
    Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 23 May 2025
  • President Donald Trump's economic agenda is having a detrimental impact on workplace mental health, according to the American Psychological Association (APA).
    Hugh Cameron, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Baleful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/baleful. Accessed 27 May. 2025.

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