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.
No matter how dire the circumstances, whenever they needed a hero, somebody stepped up.
From Los Angeles Times
And though President Vladimir Putin recently hailed a cooling of inflation amid high interest rates, pensioners in the Saint Petersburg soup kitchen say their situation is still dire.
From Barron's
On Wednesday, Brentwood tech entrepreneur Adam Miller launched a bid for mayor, saying the city is in dire need of strong management.
From Los Angeles Times
Officials have warned that she may be in dire health without her medication.
From BBC
Matters are very dire and they desperately want them to get better.
From Salon
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.
