Standard Lemma guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
adj
Portending evil; ominous.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: foreboding, portentous, augurous, baleful, bodeful, boding, dire, disastrous, divine, fatal, ill-boding, ill-fated, ill-omened, ill-starred, inauspicate, inauspicious, nefastous, omenic, ominous, brooding, presageful, presagious, prodigious, sinister, star-crossed, sullen
Antonyms: none provided
adj
Miserable, wretched, distressed, suffering.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: obsolete
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adj
Deadly, mortal.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: obsolete
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: fatal, lethal, terminal
Antonyms: none provided
adjective satellite
threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Synonyms: forbidding, menacing, minacious, minatory, ominous, sinister, threatening
Antonyms: none provided
adjective satellite
deadly or sinister
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Synonyms: baneful
Antonyms: none provided
History
From Middle English baleful, balful, baluful, from Old English bealuful, which was equivalent to bealu + -ful. By surface analysis, bale (“evil, woe”) + -ful. See bale for further etymology.
Across languages
23 source translations are retained for this English entry.
