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:
But the current dire circumstances of the TV business explain why there is little pushback.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2026
It is especially dire in the U.S. among the have-nots.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
They cling to dire predictions, like Geoffrey Hinton’s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
As rescue teams wind down efforts to salvage survivors from the rubble, and as residents leave the city -- due to dire economic prospects, trauma or both -- the streets appear more deserted than ever.
From Barron's ● Jul. 11, 2026
Schindler courageously took risks despite the possible dire consequences.
From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson
Rademacher said the showers will continue into at least Monday, with the midweek looking a bit direr.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 2, 2024
The TV series balances humor and tragedy like the film did; however, it’s clear in the episodes that things are direr now.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2023
The fallout from that could be direr than you anticipate.
From Slate ● Sep. 9, 2022
With Christmas now just months away, supermarkets are warning that the situation could become direr.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 1, 2021
Tell you, captain," he called out, "this has been a direr convulsion of nature than you have any idea.
From Cobwebs from an Empty Skull by Bierce, Ambrose
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
And the direst threats to it involve figures claiming not to care about how their actions on one side affect the other.
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2022
I would be in the direst of dire straits, facing a bleak future, when some small thing, some detail, would transform itself and appear in my mind in a new light.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
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.
