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
-
Episodes are bound together by banal introductory voiceover, in which our narrator recites ominous clichés that, like everything in His & Hers, border on parody.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Jan. 2026 -
More ominous still is the thought of the FanDuel mentality extending into other areas of American life.—
Rand Richards Cooper,
Hartford Courant,
8 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Humans could suddenly step into a box, perhaps hear gears grind, and then exit the box on a different floor—and even as safety features were innovated, that was terrifying.—
Jason Corso,
Fortune,
6 Jan. 2026
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Madigan's character, the elderly aunt of several of the students, became a cult favorite, both terrifying and delighting audiences.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
5 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
But as old tensions flare between them, Katie begins to experience terrifying visions and a ghostly presence warning of something sinister lurking aboard.—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
6 Nov. 2025
-
Which casts a show seemingly designed to bypass all judgments with respect to storytelling and taste, gliding straight to the pleasure center of some imaginary horny, enraged, shopaholic feminine id, in a fairly sinister light.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
As the day wears on, the crowd swells to a formidable throng.—
Rhea Mogul,
CNN Money,
9 Nov. 2025
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If host Point Loma was going to stay unbeaten and advance to the Division 1 quarterfinal with a win over Mater Dei Catholic on Friday night, Pointers head coach Ryan Price was sure his formidable defense would have a major hand in it.—
Kevin J. Farmer,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
If the sky becomes menacing and thunder becomes audible, seek out a safe place to seek shelter.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
5 Jan. 2026
-
Look to the upper region of the lunar crescent to find the menacing form of the Aristotles crater with its eastern rim bathed in impenetrable shadow.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
26 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
Are there horrible smells wafting around?—
Clio Chang,
Curbed,
7 Jan. 2026
-
Jimmy Kimmel was horrible, and some of these people.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
6 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The groundbreaking research penetrated the last moments of the young nobleman, who suffered a terrible 26 blows.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Nov. 2025
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History is full of cases where great bands make terrible records, yet history stands speechless at what the Clash accomplished here.—
Rob Sheffield,
Rolling Stone,
9 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Experts immediately pointed out that Hassett had used a misleading method known as a cubic fit to make the mortality data appear less frightening.—
Rogé Karma,
The Atlantic,
7 Jan. 2026
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When the sun went down, the Santa Anas began to blow, and the fire shifted into the familiar, frightening rhythm of inevitability.—
Jonathan Taplin,
Rolling Stone,
7 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Direful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/direful. Accessed 10 Jan. 2026.
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