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direful

[ dahyuh r-fuh l ]

/ ˈdaɪər fəl /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR direful ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

dreadful; awful; terrible.

indicating trouble: direful forecasts.

Origin of direful

First recorded in 1575–85; dire + -ful

OTHER WORDS FROM direful

dire·ful·ly, adverb dire·ful·ness, noun

Words nearby direful

directory, directory assistance, directress, directrix, diredawa, direful, diremption, direxit, dirge, dirham, dirhem

Example sentences from the Web for direful

His ready mind harked forward to direful emergencies, and he submitted devices for meeting these.

Ewing\'s Lady |Harry Leon Wilson
But this plan only ended in creating discord, and the consequences were direful in the extreme.

Fire and Sword in the Sudan |Rudolf C. Slatin
It was he who had forgotten to tell me this, and to me it was the most direful news of all.

The Little Minister |J. M. Barrie
What if night should overtake them, bringing to pass the policeman's direful prediction?

Rosa's Quest |Anna Potter Wright

They were equals in this direful, unlovely place; royal prejudice stood for nothing here.

Truxton King |George Barr McCutcheon