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:
The abject poverty in a rural colonia could be something out of the most dire hollow in Appalachia.
From Slate ● Nov. 2, 2026
Plans to close urgent primary care services at three hospitals would have "dire consequences", objectors say.
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026
If non-tech companies pull back on AI, the consequences for firms such as Anthropic could be dire.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
The situation is dire in Saudi Arabia, which has seen a roughly 25% drop in its oil refining capacity because of attacks and logistical bottlenecks, IIR data show.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026
She also says that sometimes change comes reluctantly and out of dire necessity, not from true goodwill or pure values.
From "Betty Before X" by Ilyasah Shabazz and Renée Watson
Rademacher said the showers will continue into at least Monday, with the midweek looking a bit direr.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 2, 2024
The script freights these qualities with guilt, which Cormier ably juggles in direr moments.
From Salon ● Feb. 22, 2024
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
With Christmas now just months away, supermarkets are warning that the situation could become direr.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 1, 2021
Have ye forgot What deed I did among you, and what new And direr deed I fled from you to do?
From Oedipus King of Thebes Translated into English Rhyming Verse with Explanatory Notes by Gilbert Murray
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
Unison's head of local government Mike Short said town halls were in the "direst of states".
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2023
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
Unsure of its power or abilities, we dared not use it for anything but the direst of circumstances.
From "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" by Grace Lin
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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.
