ISEE/SSAT Vocabulary BuilderWordsBbaleful
ISEE/SSAThard
baleful
Meaning: threatening harm or conveying a sinister influence
baleful in a sentence
How baleful is used in real sentences:
A baleful silence settled over the court before the verdict was read.
Dark clouds cast a baleful shadow across the abandoned farm.
“Later accounts praised Ortez for resisting the baleful pressure of nobles demanding mass arrests; by punishing only those tied to the scheme, he prevented a purge.”
— from the passage The Cipher at Court
Synonyms for baleful
Other words for baleful — menacing, sinister and threatening — carry the same meaning.
- menacing
- sinister
- threatening
Antonyms of baleful
Words that mean the opposite of baleful:
- benign
- benevolent
- reassuring
Where it comes from
From Old English bealu, meaning 'evil or harm.'
Memory hook
BALEFUL sounds like 'bale full': a bale full of danger is baleful.