direful

English

Etymology

From dire + -ful.

Adjective

direful (comparative more direful, superlative most direful)

  1. Fearful, terrible.
    • 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, VI.11:
      read what destiny / Or other dyrefull hap from heaven or hell / Hath wrought this wicked deed […].
    • 1603-06, William Shakespeare, Macbeth, I.2:
      "As whence the sun gins his reflection, shipwrecking storms and direful thunders break."

Synonyms

Derived terms

This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.