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:
For years, AI researchers have issued dire warnings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 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
Weak engagement numbers are dire news for its shares, down 20% this year.
From Barron's
Yet the threat of it hung over my head, along with the more dire threat of Falconer out there, waiting for me to deliver the script.
From "The Shakespeare Stealer" by Gary L. Blackwood
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
“It’s getting to be a direr situation,” Hogan said Thursday morning at her motel where many residents live.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 6, 2022
However, it sounds like your sister needs her family more than ever and would likely be in direr straits if you, of all people, were to cut her off.
From Slate ● Mar. 18, 2020
Looking around, the cunning and superstition that was everywhere about us took a direr significance.
From The Wayfarers by J. C. Snaith
Chris Young grew up in Clarksville, Tenn., in the direst imaginable circumstances — unimaginable, in fact, to many of us.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 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
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 hate having to do this again. Ella, sorry you're involved. Only supposed to use it under the direst of circumstances.”
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
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.
