dire
adjective
causing or involving great fear or suffering; dreadful; terrible.
direly
-
a word derived from
dire.
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.
When Zhu rose to national prominence in the 1990s, China’s economy was adolescent—growing rapidly but direly in need of stewardship.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
Equipment, including excavators and plows so direly needed now, were sold off.
From Seattle Times ● May 1, 2024
New treatments and therapeutic targets are direly needed for these conditions.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 20, 2024
"A fiscal commission is direly needed," Republican Senator Mike Braun, a Budget Committee member, said in an interview.
From Reuters ● Nov. 21, 2023
And they direly needed all the start they could obtain.
From The Heath Hover Mystery by Bertram Mitford
