balefully

adverb

as in resentfully

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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 balefully His family stared balefully at him, waiting for some alchemy to be performed by his hand, like those trips when he was somehow expected to navigate them through an unknown city. — Emma Cline, New Yorker, 9 Aug. 2026 Among the innards and the great slab of white tail fat was the sheep's head, balefully gazing up at me. — Stanley Stewart, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Mar. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for balefully
  1. resentfully
  2. enviously
  3. bitterly
  4. pitilessly
  5. mercilessly
  6. cruelly
  7. ruthlessly
  8. heartlessly
Adverb
  • Pacino had to leap and, eventually, resentfully, stand on a chair to spray-paint over the bank’s cameras.
    — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 31 Mar. 2026
  • In a blowup argument, Ethan resentfully calls James’ privilege a deficiency that prevents him from understanding more difficult lives.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Definition of resentfully
Adverb
  • But what is a resort collection, or cruise as it’s sometimes called, other than an enviously Instagrammable trip?
    — Alexandra Hildreth, Vogue, 27 Apr. 2026
  • To put that further into context, Wrexham looked up enviously at all three for a decade from non-League until winning promotion in 2023.
    — Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 22 Apr. 2026
Definition of enviously
Adverb
  • Homer Hill, as the name suggests, is also at no little altitude, and bitterly exposed to the elements when winter arrives.
    — Daniel Taylor, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Although the Supreme Court’s power to overrule Congress is now broadly accepted, it was bitterly contested for more than a century.
    — Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of bitterly
Adverb
  • The first hour, set at a resort that’s like a singles cruise through the Twilight Zone (or Bachelor in Paradise beamed in from a brutal alternate universe), contains some of the most pitilessly funny scenes of the filmmaker’s career.
    — A.A. Dowd, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2025
Definition of pitilessly
Adverb
  • This is no small feat in a city where working class locals are priced out mercilessly to make way for the ultra-wealthy here to work on their winter tans.
    — Amanda Rosa, Miami Herald, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Despite her clear influence, Rico was mercilessly heckled by Carti fans during her performance at the Portland tour stop.
    — Mehan Jayasuriya, Pitchfork, 24 July 2026
Definition of mercilessly
Adverb
  • Hansen can be cruelly mocking towards his oft-flustered but extremely professional producer Andie Bender (an astonishingly good Merritt Wever).
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Then came a dip in form and, cruelly, a foot injury in January that ended his season.
    — Cerys Jones, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of cruelly
Adverb
  • The Joker, Batman movies Batman’s greatest adversary is ruthlessly, functionally insane.
    — Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Sep. 2026
  • The first at Lord's was only 110 on Friday, and two days later England's all-seam attack was ruthlessly picking apart the top order again.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of ruthlessly
Adverb
  • Victim Nyron Shaw’s father said the driver who mowed his son down last year in Ocean Hill a day before Independence Day should face the maximum penalty for allegedly driving twice the speed limit and heartlessly taking off, leaving his son to die.
    — Nicholas Williams, New York Daily News, 8 Apr. 2026
  • In the process, Joel heartlessly killed some innocent people, including medical professionals.
    — EW.com, EW.com, 26 Aug. 2025
Definition of heartlessly

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baleful
balefully
balefulness
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Cite this Entry

“Balefully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/balefully. Accessed 15 Sep. 2026.

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