dire
Americanadjective
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causing or involving great fear or suffering; dreadful; terrible.
a dire calamity.
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indicating trouble, disaster, misfortune, or the like.
dire predictions about the stock market.
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urgent; desperate.
in dire need of food.
adjective
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Also: direful. disastrous; fearful
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desperate; urgent
a dire need
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foreboding disaster; ominous
a dire warning
Other Word Forms
- direly adverb
- direness noun
Etymology
Origin of dire
First recorded in 1560–70, dire is from the Latin word dīrus fearful, unlucky
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Here’s his advice for dealing with the stress of waiting, whether it’s for potentially dire medical results or the outcome of a job interview.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026
We’ve been hearing dire warnings about it for years, with little impact on interest rates or investor returns, so why worry now?
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
To be sure, recent economic data have not been so dire.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 2, 2026
Levy: With every character, at the beginning of this show, I’m thinking, how can we exacerbate the dire circumstances that crime would rub up against?
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026
Maya was pretty sure if the circumstances weren’t so dire, they would have looked like they were doing a comedy routine.
From "Far from the Tree" by Robin Benway
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
