direful en · ADJ
Etymology
From dire + -ful.
Meanings
-
Fearful, terrible.
"As whence the sun gins his reflection, shipwrecking storms and direful thunders break."
c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:I haue beene wooed, as I intreat thee now, / Euen by the ſterne, and direfull God of warre, / VVhoſe ſinowie necke in battel nere did bow, / VVho conquers where he comes in euery iarre; […]
1594, [William Shakespeare], Venus and Adonis, 2nd edition, London: […] Richard Field, […], →OCLC, [verse 17], lines [97–100]:read what destiny / Or other dyrefull hap from heaven or hell / Hath wrought this wicked deed […].
1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book VI, Canto XI”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| most direful | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| more direful | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |