Meaning & use
dire
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a noun
Extremely serious or urgent, usually because something very bad is happening or likely to happen.
Grammar: Usually comes before the noun: a dire warning; after be it can also stand alone: the situation is dire.
Patterns
- in dire need of something
- dire consequences for someone
The hospital issued a dire warning about the shortage of blood.
Families in the flooded area were in dire need of clean water.
If we ignore the problem, the consequences could be dire.
adjectivecomparableinformalBritish
Very poor in quality; terrible.
Grammar: Can follow be: the food was dire. Mostly British in this sense.
The film was dire, and we left halfway through.
Their attempt at singing was absolutely dire.
Word forms
| comparative | direr |
|---|---|
| superlative | direst |
Common combinations
- dire consequences
- Missing the deadline would have dire consequences.
- dire straits
- The company is in dire straits after losing its biggest client.
- dire warning
- Scientists gave a dire warning about rising seas.
- dire need
- The village is in dire need of medicine.
- dire situation
- Rescuers faced a dire situation after the storm.
Synonyms and how they differ
- grave
- Stresses seriousness and weight, with less sense of looming disaster.
- desperate
- Suggests people or conditions at the point of hopelessness.
- dreadful
- Focuses on how bad something is, not on urgency.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: dire or dyer?
dire vs dyer
A dyer colors cloth; it sounds similar but is a different word.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'dire' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Dire describes serious, urgent situations such as a shortage. The other sentences use it where it does not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “dire”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.