1
as in ominous
being or showing a sign of evil or calamity to come
a dark, baleful sky portending a tornado
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in adverse
causing or capable of causing harm
contends that the violent content of so much of popular entertainment is a baleful influence on our society
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3
as in lethal
likely to cause or capable of causing death
a medicine that is beneficial in small doses but baleful in large
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of baleful
The baleful stare that was such a part of Foreman’s first act as a boxer and public personality was missing, replaced by a look of mischief.
—
Jerry McDonald, The Mercury News, 26 Mar. 2025
But Donald Trump’s tariff attacks on Canada—and, even more, his insistence that the country should be incorporated as the fifty-first state—may halt this slow drift into the United States’ baleful orbit, at least for now.
—Bill McKibben, The New Yorker, 7 Mar. 2025
Women are thought of as contaminants in the heya and arm candy outside it; the sponsors exert a baleful commercial pressure on the fighters.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2025
At another, this baleful ribbon emanates from the shell of a totaled BMW 325iS, the very model of car once associated in the region with gang terror — elsewhere shown cruising and spinning on dusty roads, like urban harbingers of doom amid rural tranquility.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 23 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for baleful
Jerry McDonald, The Mercury News, 26 Mar. 2025
But Donald Trump’s tariff attacks on Canada—and, even more, his insistence that the country should be incorporated as the fifty-first state—may halt this slow drift into the United States’ baleful orbit, at least for now.
—Bill McKibben, The New Yorker, 7 Mar. 2025
Women are thought of as contaminants in the heya and arm candy outside it; the sponsors exert a baleful commercial pressure on the fighters.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2025
At another, this baleful ribbon emanates from the shell of a totaled BMW 325iS, the very model of car once associated in the region with gang terror — elsewhere shown cruising and spinning on dusty roads, like urban harbingers of doom amid rural tranquility.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 23 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for baleful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for baleful
Adjective
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In a small 18th-century English village, locals hear ominous barking.—
Shannon Carlin,
Time,
22 May 2025
-
There’s a shift in the second to last episode when Michaela suddenly becomes not ridiculous or ominous, but self-aware and human and someone who very clearly sees what a fraud her life has been.—
Nina Metz,
Chicago Tribune,
22 May 2025
Adjective
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Those impacted by this recall or others can report a complaint or adverse event by visiting Industry and Consumer Assistance.—
Fernando Cervantes Jr,
USA Today,
24 May 2025
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In 2023, for example, a federal judge ruled that mifepristone should be taken off the market by citing low-quality studies that reported adverse effects from mifepristone.—
Keren Landman,
The Atlantic,
24 May 2025
Adjective
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Oscar Franklin Smith is set to be executed by lethal injection for the 1989 murder of his estranged wife, 35-year-old Judith Robirds Smith, and her sons.—
Fernando Cervantes Jr,
USA Today,
22 May 2025
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The last electrocution was in 1990, the method has been lethal injection since that time.—
Ray Hanley,
Arkansas Online,
21 May 2025
Adjective
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Though it was written around the time of Malibu’s Woolsey fire, the 14-minute long dirge that encompasses flames in Malibu and a cougar that roams the hills took on a new and sinister meaning in the aftermath of the more recent fires.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
19 May 2025
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With the two men mismatched in temperament and direction, Diller was gone in a year and a half—fleeing one sinister Davis (Martin) for the arms of another, equally sinister one (Marvin), who controlled Twentieth Century Fox.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
19 May 2025
Adjective
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China has gone even further, requiring digital watermarks on synthetic media and directing platforms to swiftly remove harmful content — part of its broader strategy of centralized content control.—
Anisha Sircar,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2025
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The jury is still out on whether emulsifiers are harmful to the gut.—
Fran Kritz,
Verywell Health,
30 May 2025
Adjective
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The only new name in 2025 is Dexter, which replaced Dorian, a deadly and destructive Category 5 hurricane that wreaked havoc in the Bahamas in 2019.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
31 May 2025
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Rock jetties can be deadly in such conditions, stay off the rocks.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
31 May 2025
Adjective
-
If the sky becomes menacing and thunder becomes audible, seek out a safe place to seek shelter.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
29 May 2025
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The man was arrested on suspicion of second-degree assault strangulation, second-degree kidnapping, false imprisonment, menacing and prohibited use of weapons, deputies said.—
Sara Schilling,
Sacbee.com,
23 May 2025
Adjective
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The multitrillion-dollar GOP tax bill could have detrimental impacts on decarbonization efforts in the U.S., according to energy experts.—
Julia Jacobo,
ABC News,
23 May 2025
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President Donald Trump's economic agenda is having a detrimental impact on workplace mental health, according to the American Psychological Association (APA).—
Hugh Cameron,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Baleful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/baleful. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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