baneful

English

Etymology

From bane +‎ -ful.

Adjective

baneful (comparative more baneful, superlative most baneful)

1. (archaic) Poisonous, deadly.
   • 1791, Homer, W[illiam] Cowper, transl., “[The Iliad.] Book XXII.”, in The Iliad and Odyssey of Homer, Translated into Blank Verse, […], volume I, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], →OCLC, page 577, lines 106–109:

     [S]ome fell ſerpent in his cave expects / The traveller's approach, batten'd vvith herbs / Of baneful juice to fury, forth he looks / Hideous, and lies coil'd all around his den.

2. Harmful, injurious.
   • 1791 (date written), Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: With Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects, 1st American edition, Boston, Mass.: […] Peter Edes for Thomas and Andrews, […], published 1792, →OCLC:

     This contempt of the understanding in early life has more baneful consequences than is commonly supposed […]

Synonyms

• fatal
• mortal

Antonyms

• helpful
• productive

Related terms

• bane
• banefully
• banefulness

Translations

Deadly

• Bulgarian: гибелен (bg) (gibelen), пагубен (bg) (paguben)
• Finnish: kohtalokas (fi)
• French: funeste (fr)
• Greek: θανάσιμος (el) (thanásimos), θανατηφόρος (el) (thanatifóros), μοιραίος (el) (moiraíos)

  Ancient: μοιραῖος (moiraîos)

• Japanese: 致死の (ja) (chishi no), 命取りの (ja) (inochitori no)

Exceedingly harmful

• Finnish: tuhoisa (fi)
• French: funeste (fr)
• Greek: ολέθριος (el) (oléthrios), επιζήμιος (el) (epizímios), καταστρεπτικός (el) (katastreptikós)
• Irish: urbhadhach
• Japanese: 有害な (ja) (yūgai na)
• Polish: zgubny (pl)
• Ukrainian: згу́бний (zhúbnyj)