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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 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 The effect is to rub our faces in the self-destructive horror of the heroine’s impulses and to shift that baleful sense of the erotic’s dark power from a disturbing subtext to a more sensationalized foreground. Jim Shepard, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for baleful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for baleful
Adjective
  • If the sky turns ominous and thunder can be heard, find a secure place for shelter.
    STAR-TELEGRAM WEATHER BOT, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Apr. 2025
  • But despite some ominous signs, a close look at the data shows that travel to the United States is largely holding up — at least so far.
    Josh Holder, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • The result is potential adverse effects on the health, cognition, and well-being of older users and missed opportunities for support.
    Diana Spehar, Forbes.com, 1 May 2025
  • Sometimes this can be dangerous and cause serious adverse effects.
    Jamie Johnson, Verywell Health, 1 May 2025
Adjective
  • Here’s what the bone analysis revealed about the man and how the researchers determined what was behind the lethal bite markings.
    Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 26 Apr. 2025
  • James Osgood will be executed by lethal injection just after 6 p.m. Thursday at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Alabama.
    Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 25 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Or, more likely, The Sentry is simply the benevolent mirror image of that shadowy, sinister entity that emerges after Bob Reynolds ingests a super serum.
    Jeff Spry, Space.com, 22 Apr. 2025
  • However, what was happening behind the scenes was more sinister than what the public thought.
    Lea Veloso, StyleCaster, 14 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Confusing a congressional edict to end segregation with DEI policies that have no genesis in the Black Civil Rights movement to end Jim Crow is historically ignorant, disrespectful, and harmful to the urgent need to focus on resolving continuing racial inequalities in public education.
    Raymond Pierce, Forbes.com, 25 Apr. 2025
  • For every person who happily sets 4:00 a.m. alarms on race morning, there’s another convinced the sport is too hard, too boring, or a waste of time, if not outright harmful.
    Cindy Kuzma, SELF, 25 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • As tensions between India and Pakistan reach a boiling point following a deadly attack on tourists in Kashmir, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has publicly offered Tehran's assistance in mediating the crisis.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Apr. 2025
  • At least eight people were killed in drone strikes across the country, a night after Russia launched its deadliest bombardment of Ukraine since the middle of last year.
    Todd Symons, CNN Money, 25 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • If the sky becomes menacing and thunder becomes audible, seek out a safe place to seek shelter.
    NC Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 23 Apr. 2025
  • With its stout bastions and menacing defense towers, Kaunas Castle is the epitome of a medieval citadel.
    Joe Yogerst, Forbes.com, 22 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Focusing too much on weight rather than taking a more holistic approach can be detrimental to the care of all patients.
    Hannah Yasharoff, USA Today, 30 Apr. 2025
  • Expecting perfection, or guarding against our own humanity coming through, is also detrimental to our ability to be present for the good parts of the date.
    Myisha Battle, Time, 29 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Baleful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/baleful. Accessed 5 May. 2025.

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