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:
Jacob Coxon issued a public dire warning about the dangers of AI and ignited a global debate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
The federal district court issued a preliminary injunction partly on this basis, noting the burdens on election administrators were high and the public interest costs dire.
From Slate ● Sep. 15, 2026
China had kept quiet in response to the wave of dire warnings from researchers at US companies.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
Critics of AI safety campaigners say those issuing dire warnings overstate the risks of novel technology and that the advances AI enable in workplace productivity, drug discovery and more outweigh the risks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
Despite these dire warnings, he still refused to be treated, and he even rejected taking pain medicine to ease his agony.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Rademacher said the showers will continue into at least Monday, with the midweek looking a bit direr.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 2, 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
Chances are likely that the ultimate consequence of our plastic consumption will be something far greater, and perhaps direr, than our current scientific understanding is able to predict.
From Salon ● Mar. 13, 2019
These four I deem not direr than the sin, If one, in coming forth from woe to weal, Abandon any meanest comrade then.'
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
This is an ancient and nearly universal idiom that resurfaces, in different forms, in different places, and at different times, in the direst of circumstances.
From Salon ● May 4, 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
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
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.
