Dire is used to emphasize how serious or terrible a situation or event is.
[emphasis]
A government split would have dire consequences for domestic peace.
He was in dire need of hospital treatment.
...dire poverty.
2. adjective [usually verb-link ADJECTIVE]
If you describe something as dire, you are emphasizing that it is of very low quality.
[informal, emphasis]
...a book of children's verse, which ranged from the barely tolerable to the utterlydire.
Synonyms: terrible, awful, appalling, dreadful More Synonyms of dire
More Synonyms of dire
dire in British English
(daɪə)
adjective(usually prenominal)
1. Also: direful
disastrous; fearful
2.
desperate; urgent
a dire need
3.
foreboding disaster; ominous
a dire warning
Derived forms
direly (ˈdirely)
adverb
direness (ˈdireness)
noun
Word origin
C16: from Latin dīrus ominous, fearful; related to Greek deos fear
dire in American English
(daɪr)
adjectiveWord forms: ˈdirer or ˈdirest
1.
arousing terror or causing extreme distress; dreadful; terrible
2.
calling for quick action; urgent
a dire need
Derived forms
direly (ˈdirely)
adverb
direness (ˈdireness)
noun
Word origin
L dirus, fearful < IE base *dwei-, to fear > Gr deimos, panic
Examples of 'dire' in a sentence
dire
Yet now the building is in dire need of restoration.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
THE country is in dire need of new homes.
The Sun (2016)
America's roads, airports and rail network are in dire need of upgrades.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
When you were in dire straits she was superb.
Paige, Frances The Glasgow Girls (1994)
Sudden share collapses are only usually triggered when companies issue dire profit warnings.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Welfare handouts were designed as a safety net against dire poverty.
The Sun (2012)
The idea is to predict something so dire that you will have to do better.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
To grow accustomed to humans in dire need is to become something less than human.
Christianity Today (2000)
Build more affordable homes or this dire situation will get worse.
The Sun (2012)
The integrity of international sport is in dire straits.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Pals egged him on and administrators caught wind of the assembly stunt and issued dire warnings.
The Sun (2014)
This is a club in dire need of a bit of visible ambition.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
People come up with the best ideas when they are in dire straits.
Vera Peiffer POSITIVE THINKING: Everything you have always known about positive thinking but wereafraid to put into practice (2001)
But such dire warnings are not borne out by the facts.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The population was in dire need of a rallying cry.
Jonathan Wright Ambassadors: From Ancient Greece to the Nation State (2006)
If you are in dire need then seriously consider applying.
Tondeur, Keith Say Goodbye to Debt (1994)
What is not in dispute is that thousands of people in this part of the world are in dire straits.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
It is an increasingly dire situation.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Particularly in the cities, bad times forced many unskilled laborers and their families into dire poverty.
Garraty, John Arthur The American Nation: A History of the United States to 1877 (1995)
More commonly, dire poverty was blamed on the poor themselves.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
No matter how dire something is, you can find something to laugh about.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Celtic insist that their rivals' dire situation is of no concern to them.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Initially, there will be uproar with protests and dire warnings of disaster.
The Sun (2012)
City growth was itself distinctive, combining new manufacturing with huge swaths of dire poverty.
Stearns, Peter N. World History: Patterns of Change and Continuity (1995)
A handful of times it has been utterly dire.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
There can be terrible fear that if the ritual is not strictly adhered to, something dire will happen.
Munro, Bill Dr. & Munro, Frances Beat Stress (1992)
You do not need to be'at the very periphery' of the country to have an utterly dire service.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
In other languages
dire
British English: dire ADJECTIVE
Dire is used to emphasize how serious or terrible a situation or event is.
A government split would have dire consequences for domestic peace.
American English: dire
Brazilian Portuguese: terrível
Chinese: 严重的
European Spanish: grave
French: désastreux
German: schrecklich
Italian: gravissimoadj
Japanese: 悲惨な
Korean: 지독한
European Portuguese: terrível
Latin American Spanish: grave
All related terms of 'dire'
Dire Dawa
city in E Ethiopia : pop. 98,000
dire wolf
an extinct wolf , Canis dirus , widespread in North America during the Pleistocene Epoch , having a larger body and a smaller brain than the modern wolf
voir dire
the preliminary examination on oath of a proposed witness by the judge
dire poverty
Poverty is the state of being extremely poor .
dire shortage
If there is a shortage of something, there is not enough of it.
dire warning
A warning is something which is said or written to tell people of a possible danger , problem, or other unpleasant thing that might happen .
dire prediction
If you make a prediction about something, you say what you think will happen.
to be in dire straits
to be in a position of acute difficulty
Chinese translation of 'dire'
dire
(daɪəʳ)
adj
[consequences, poverty]极(極)端的 (jíduān de)
(inf, = terrible) 可怕的 (kěpà de)
to be in dire straits (financially) 捉襟见(見)肘 (zhuō jīn jiàn zhǒu)
to be in dire need of sth极(極)需某物 (jí xū mǒuwù)
1 (adjective)
Definition
disastrous, urgent, or terrible
We found ourselves in a dire predicament.
Synonyms
desperate
Troops are needed to get food to people in desperate need.
pressing
crying
critical
terrible
crucial
alarming
extreme
awful
appalling
urgent
There is an urgent need for food and water.
cruel
horrible
Still the horrible shrieking came out of his mouth.
disastrous
the recent, disastrous earthquake
grim
They painted a grim picture of growing crime.
dreadful
gloomy
fearful (informal)
The earthquake was a fearful disaster.
dismal
the country's dismal record in the Olympics
drastic
Drastic measures are needed.
catastrophic
ominous
horrid (informal)
What a horrid smell!
woeful
the team's recent woeful performance
ruinous
the ruinous effects of the conflict
calamitous
a calamitous air crash
cataclysmic
portentous
portentous prophecies of doom
godawful (slang)
exigent
bodeful
2 (adjective)
Definition
disastrous, urgent, or terrible
a book of verse which ranged from the barely tolerable to the utterly dire
Synonyms
terrible
She admits her French is terrible.
awful
Even if the weather's awful there's still lots to do.
appalling
They have been living under the most appalling conditions.
dreadful
They told us the dreadful news.
abysmal
The general standard was abysmal.
frightful
We were trapped overnight in frightful conditions.
godawful (slang)
Additional synonyms
in the sense of abysmal
Definition
extremely bad
The general standard was abysmal.
Synonyms
dreadful,
bad,
terrible (informal),
awful,
appalling,
dismal,
dire,
ghastly,
hideous,
atrocious,
godawful (informal)
in the sense of appalling
Definition
causing dismay, horror, or revulsion
They have been living under the most appalling conditions.
Synonyms
horrifying,
shocking (informal),
terrible,
alarming,
frightening,
scaring,
awful,
terrifying,
horrible,
grim,
dreadful,
intimidating,
dismaying,
horrific,
fearful (informal),
daunting,
dire,
astounding,
ghastly,
hideous,
shameful,
harrowing,
vile,
unnerving,
petrifying,
horrid,
unspeakable,
frightful,
nightmarish,
abominable,
disheartening,
godawful (slang),
hellacious (US, slang),
from hell (informal)
in the sense of awful
Even if the weather's awful there's still lots to do.