ireful en · ADJ
Etymology
From Middle English ireful; equivalent to ire + -ful.
Meanings
- Deeply angered but not outwardly displaying it; full of ire; angry; wroth.
-
(of clouds, qualifier:the sky; etc; the sky; etc) Threatening to storm, or storming; louring or stormy.
... ireful clouds collect in stern array, / And bursting thunders speak the mighty fray;
1845, Charles Hood, Gonzalvo, Or, The Fall of Grenada, page 30:... ireful crimson sky, as he gropes his broken way home after the trial.
1921, Paul Green, The Drama Magazine ..., page 91:... ireful clouds, as foreboding a day for starting a mission as Bennie and Sadie Mays could recall—and the weather became a nagging portent that lingered in their minds during a warm reception filled with hope and promises.
2012 August 15, John Herbert Roper, Sr., The Magnificent Mays: A Biography of Benjamin Elijah Mays, Univ of South Carolina Press, →ISBN:... ireful clouds seemed to sink heavily toward the town. It wasn't supposed to rain here, and yet the sand beneath his feet was as soaked as any shoreline.
2013 February 20, H.O. Charles, Blazed Union (Volume 4 of The Fireblade Array), H. O. Charles:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| more ireful | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| most ireful | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |