baleful

(bāl'fəl)
adj.

1. Portending evil; ominous. See synonyms at sinister.
2. Harmful or malignant in intent or effect.

balefully bale'ful·ly adv.
balefulness bale'ful·ness n.

USAGE NOTE   Baleful and baneful overlap in meaning, but baleful usually applies to something that is menacing or foreshadows evil: a baleful look. Baneful most often describes that which is actually harmful or destructive: baneful effects of their foreign policy.

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These two somewhat literary words are not much used in everyday language; baleful is slightly better known perhaps than baneful. Since they overlap in meaning, they tend to be confused. Baleful (from bale, 'misery') means 'having an evil influence' or 'menacing', and is used in particular of people's presence or appearance, whereas baneful (from bane, poison) developed from its earlier meaning 'poisonous' to 'causing harm or ruin'. Examples: (baleful)

The baleful presence of his father in the house was like a constant reproach—R. Hayman, 1981

Foghorns boom in still longer and lower choruses of baleful warning—Iain Banks, 1986

(baneful) The baneful memory of that night haunted her, sometimes tormented her—Iris Murdoch, 1987.

Baleful is the more likely to be needed in spoken English, especially with reference to looks and glances.

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adjective

Strongly suggestive of great harm, menace, or evil: malign, sinister. See warn/invite.

adj

Definition: menacing
Antonyms: advantageous, auspicious, favorable, good, helping, promising

IN BRIEF: Harmful, ominous or threatening evil.

The crook said some baleful words to the crime victim.

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For a list of words related to baleful, see:

• Bad, False, Evil, Insincere, or Dishonest

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  See crossword solutions for the clue Baleful.

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - mørk, truende

Nederlands (Dutch)
onheilspellend, sinister

Français (French)
adj. - maléfique, sinistre, funeste

Deutsch (German)
adj. - unheilvoll

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - κακός, μοχθηρός

Italiano (Italian)
sinistro, funesto

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - maléfico, pernicioso, fatal

Русский (Russian)
вредный, враждебный, зловещий, мрачный

Español (Spanish)
adj. - funesto, siniestro, pernicioso

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - olycksbringande

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
有害的, 恶意的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 有害的, 惡意的

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 악심을 품은, 불쌍한, 비참한

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 有害な, 悪意のある

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) مهدد, غير سار‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮מלא שנאה, רע‬

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