dire

[ dahyuhr ]

adjective

, dir·er, dir·est.

1. causing or involving great fear or suffering; dreadful; terrible:

   a dire calamity.

2. indicating trouble, disaster, misfortune, or the like:

   dire predictions about the stock market.

3. urgent; desperate:

   in dire need of food.

dire

/ daɪə /

adjective

1. Alsodireful disastrous; fearful
2. desperate; urgent

   a dire need

3. foreboding disaster; ominous

   a dire warning

Derived Forms

• ˈdireness, noun
• ˈdirely, adverb

Other Words From

• direly adverb
• direness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of dire¹

First recorded in 1560–70, dire is from the Latin word dīrus fearful, unlucky

Word History and Origins

Origin of dire¹

C16: from Latin dīrus ominous, fearful; related to Greek deos fear

Example Sentences

Through interviews with children and other relatives, we learn about a warm and loving person who was fully accepted on her own terms by a wife and kids that stayed loyal despite an unstable and often dire lifestyle.

From Washington Blade

The commission predicted that the future would be bleaker and that there would be dire consequences for the state’s economy if sweeping changes were not made.

From Washington Post

If we don’t have clear and convincing answers to those questions, then the bill creates potentially dire consequences for the internet we know and love.

From MIT Technology Review

Salsman allegedly told her the situation was dire — she might face jail time — but he could still represent her in exchange for sex, according to state prosecutors.

From Washington Post

The president faces many dire challenges, but in one way, he has it easier than Obama did.

From ProPublica

So, what happens if nothing in his training has replicated such a dire condition?

From The Daily Beast

“Driving on both sides, getting around cars, letting them know I was in a dire emergency,” Johnson says.

From The Daily Beast

Kim Jung-un clearly recognizes that Hollywood and American popular culture in general constitute a dire threat.

From The Daily Beast

The results of that rash decision, the most dire of which has been the rise of ISIS, are now plain for us to see.

From The Daily Beast

The dire fatalism that dominated the discourse then is gone, replaced largely with a practiced apathy.

From The Daily Beast

De moi, je ne say qu'en dire, d'autant que je ne veux affirmer ny le si ny le non en ce dont je n'ay vidence.

From Project Gutenberg

Car les Angloys s'en veulent dire maistres, et sur ce ils produysoyent des lettres de leur Roy, mais ce que nous croyons fausses.

From Project Gutenberg

In fact it was a battle between the dire disease and that powerful constitution for which the Brown family is celebrated.

From Project Gutenberg

A terrific roar followed, the canvas was instantly torn open, and the whole tent fell in dire confusion on the top of its inmates.

From Project Gutenberg

Some are on wood, some on porcelain, some on glass, some on dire deeds intent.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• alarming
• appalling
• awful
• calamitous
• cataclysmic
• catastrophic
• depressing
• disastrous
• dismal
• distressing
• dreadful
• gloomy
• grim
• horrible
• lamentable
• shocking
• ugly
• unfortunate