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
Etymology
Origin of dire
First recorded in 1560–70, dire is from the Latin word dīrus fearful, unlucky
Explanation
Dire refers to situations or events that cause great fear and worry. A dire calamity causes much suffering. If a family is in dire need, they need immediate help. Dire predictions or warnings tell us that a disaster may happen in the future. If you are trapped between the burning building behind you and the high cliffs in front of you, you might describe yourself as being in dire straits.
Vocabulary lists containing dire
The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 2
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"Macbeth" Vocabulary from Act I
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The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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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.
See Examples For:
If construction stalled, an already fragile situation could turn dire.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
The abject poverty in a rural colonia could be something out of the most dire hollow in Appalachia.
From Slate ● Nov. 2, 2026
Don Huffines, who is running for election as the state's chief financial officer, issued an even more dire warning.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026
The fire department analyzed dispatch records and saw a dire need to add more resources, Bitchakdjian said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026
If the situation hadn’t been so dire, I’d have been laughing at the freaked-out look on his face.
From "The Season of Styx Malone" by Kekla Magoon
Rademacher said the showers will continue into at least Monday, with the midweek looking a bit direr.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 2, 2024
It’s just that recent-years playoffs might have made Georgia’s plight seem direr.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 29, 2021
The pandemic pushed the world’s poor into direr straits, but for some young people it launched careers and improved chances for wealth.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2021
The situation gets even direr when considering the threats to children, who can't get the shot until they turn 12.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2021
Life has few direr disenchanters than the morning smells of obsolete tobacco, relics though they be of hesternal beatitude.
From Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce by E. R. Billings
Rakhine has suffered some of the direst conditions in the war, largely cut off from the rest of Myanmar.
From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026
A recent drought saw the three direst years on record, which dropped reservoirs around the state to dangerously low levels and prompted mandatory rationing and even caused some hydroelectric power plants to shut down.
From Seattle Times ● May 16, 2024
Equally miraculous is a nonfiction movie forged in the direst of challenges that never comes across like an issue-driven medical narrative.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2023
Wales received 56.7% of its expected rainfall between March and August, the third direst six-month period since records began in 1865.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2022
This shocked the three-judge panel, who warned us in direst terms about the dangers of conducting our own defense.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
