direful

• The beginning was not easy, it was even "direful," and "methought" I should die of despair; but now things are going, I am all right, come what may! —  The George Sand-Gustave Flaubert Letters
• Vathek meanwhile saluted the moon with an idolatrous air, that neither pleased Morakanabad nor the Doctors of the Law, any more than the vizirs and the grandees of his court, who were all assembled to enjoy the last view of their sovereign At length the clarions and trumpets from the top of the tower announced the prelude of departure; though the instruments were in unison with each other, yet a singular dissonance was blended with their sounds; this proceeded from Carathis, who was singing her direful orisons to the Giaour, whilst the negresses and mutes supplied thorough-base without articulating a word. —  The History of Caliph Vathek
• And such to a greater or less extent is what He sees in each one of us; so direful are the results of bad Education Few of us have been educated altogether aright. —  Aims and Aids for Girls and Young Women On the Various Duties of Life, Physical, Intellectual, And Moral Development; Self-Culture, Improvement, Dress, Beauty, Fashion, Employment, Education, The Home Relations, Their Duties To Young Men, Marriage, Womanhood And Happiness.
• Unfortunately, the scaffolding broke beneath the crowd, and many spectators were burned or drowned, and that which began as an entertaining spectacle ended as a direful reality. —  The Destiny of the Soul A Critical History of the Doctrine of a Future Life
• These inflammable gases were first known for the direful effects which they so often produced rather than for their useful qualities. —  Artificial Light Its Influence upon Civilization

Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the Same Context