# baleful

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈbeɪl.fəl/ · frequency rank #79,286

## Definitions
1. Portending evil; ominous.
2. Miserable, wretched, distressed, suffering.
3. Deadly, mortal.

## Etymology
From Middle English baleful, balful, baluful, from Old English bealuful, which was equivalent to bealu + -ful. By surface analysis, bale (“evil, woe”) + -ful. See bale for further etymology.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/baleful