dire

[dahyuh r]

See more synonyms for dire on Thesaurus.com

adjective, dir·er, dir·est.

causing or involving great fear or suffering; dreadful; terrible: a dire calamity.
indicating trouble, disaster, misfortune, or the like: dire predictions about the stock market.
urgent; desperate: in dire need of food.

Origin of dire

First recorded in 1560–70, dire is from the Latin word dīrus fearful, unlucky

Related formsdire·ly, adverbdire·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for dire

Contemporary Examples

So, what happens if nothing in his training has replicated such a dire condition?
Flight 8501 Poses Question: Are Modern Jets Too Automated to Fly?
Clive Irving
January 4, 2015
“Driving on both sides, getting around cars, letting them know I was in a dire emergency,” Johnson says.
'Please Don't Die!': The Frantic Battle to Save Murdered Cops
Michael Daly
December 22, 2014
Kim Jung-un clearly recognizes that Hollywood and American popular culture in general constitute a dire threat.
Inside the ‘Surprisingly Great’ North Korean Hacker Hotel
Michael Daly
December 20, 2014
The results of that rash decision, the most dire of which has been the rise of ISIS, are now plain for us to see.
‘America in Retreat’: Why Neo-Isolationism Exploded Under Obama and What We Can Do About It
James Kirchick
December 1, 2014
The dire fatalism that dominated the discourse then is gone, replaced largely with a practiced apathy.
Heart of Darkness: Into Afghanistan’s Taliban Valley
Matt Trevithick, Daniel Seckman
November 15, 2014

Historical Examples

To have married a girl who cared only for his money; that would have been dire enough.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
The present, so, was more than any possible future, how dire soever it might be.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
We cheered, thinking some dire calamity had befallen the enemy.
Ned Myers
James Fenimore Cooper
In fact, no word except that of dire disaster had come to hand.
Welsh Fairy Tales
William Elliott Griffis
But it is a dire necessity, and it is impossible to avoid or to turn it.
Diary from November 12, 1862, to October 18, 1863
Adam Gurowski

British Dictionary definitions for dire

dire

adjective (usually prenominal)

Also: direful disastrous; fearful
desperate; urgenta dire need
foreboding disaster; ominousa dire warning

Derived Formsdirely, adverbdireness, noun

Word Origin

C16: from Latin dīrus ominous, fearful; related to Greek deos fear

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for dire

adj.

1560s, from Latin dirus "fearful, awful, boding ill," of unknown origin; perhaps from Oscan and Umbrian and perhaps cognate with Greek deinos, from PIE root *dwei-.

dire

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}dire

Examples from the Web for dire

Contemporary Examples

So, what happens if nothing in his training has replicated such a dire condition?

“Driving on both sides, getting around cars, letting them know I was in a dire emergency,” Johnson says.

Kim Jung-un clearly recognizes that Hollywood and American popular culture in general constitute a dire threat.

The results of that rash decision, the most dire of which has been the rise of ISIS, are now plain for us to see.

The dire fatalism that dominated the discourse then is gone, replaced largely with a practiced apathy.

Historical Examples

To have married a girl who cared only for his money; that would have been dire enough.

The present, so, was more than any possible future, how dire soever it might be.

We cheered, thinking some dire calamity had befallen the enemy.

In fact, no word except that of dire disaster had come to hand.

But it is a dire necessity, and it is impossible to avoid or to turn it.

dire

Word Origin

Word Origin and History for dire

adj.

Origin of dire