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dire

/ˈdaɪ̯ə(ɹ)/adjective1 syllable

Dire means: causing fear or dread or terror.

Synonyms for dire29

adjective, as in causing fear or dread or terror

awful, direful, dread, dreaded, dreadful, fearful, fearsome, frightening, horrendous, horrific, terrible, alarming

adjective, as in fraught with extreme danger; nearly hopeless

desperate, critical

also used for dire

foreboding, inauspicious, augurous, baleful, bodeful, boding, disastrous, divine, fatal, acute, exigent, bad, clamant, crying, sore

Includes material from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

What does dire mean?2

adjective

1

causing fear or dread or terror“the awful war”

2

fraught with extreme danger; nearly hopeless“a desperate illness”

Definitions from the Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

What rhymes with dire?12

one syllable

tyreshiresquireireskierspire
Show 40 near rhymes
ibymyliketimerightwhylifewhilefindhighmightnighttimeslivewhitesidetrylinefivekindguysmindguynicelightbuychildbehindquitesometimestypeoutsidefightfinepricewifesiteeyesdied

Dire in a sentence

  • She was in dire straits, but made a virtue out of necessity.qdii
  • Ladies and gentlemen, we are now ready to begin the voir dire.MrShoval
  • Without electricity, the situation in the besieged territory becomes even more dire.Amastan
  • The economy is in dire need of a jump-start.sundown
  • Prolonged stress can have dire effects on the body.Teangloir
  • His car was in dire need of attention.Nuel
  • Not without sorrow shalt thou twice speak words so dire.mhenderson5
  • The situation is becoming more and more dire for me.AlanF_US

Sentences from Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR, credited to their authors.

Forms of dire

as a adjective

comparative
direr
superlative
direst