dire

play

adjective \ ˈdī(-ə)r \

Definition of dire

direr; direst

1 a :exciting horror

dire suffering

b :dismal, oppressive

dire days

2 :warning of disaster

a dire forecast

3 a :desperately urgent

in dire need of assistance

b :extreme

dire poverty

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direly

adverb

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direness

noun

See dire defined for English-language learners

See dire defined for kids

Examples of dire in a Sentence

The alleged threat posed by Yellowstone's 3,600 buffalo came from the fact that they carry brucella, a bacterium that cycles harmlessly enough in Bison bison but has considerably more dire effects on cattle. —Christopher Ketcham, Harper's, June 2008
Whether one is a lowly farmer or an urban worker, a student, professional, or a member of the elite, a meal is not complete unless rice is served to accompany the main viand of pork, fish, chicken, beef, vegetables or in the most dire circumstances, dry fish or salt. —Georgina R. Encanto, Food, April 2000
All wild tigers are threatened with extinction, but Sumatran tigers are in especially dire straits because the world's zoos have only 235 of them in captive-breeding programs. —Audubon, November-December 1998
The circumstances are now more dire than ever.
Some analysts are issuing dire economic forecasts.
They live in dire poverty.

Recent Examples of dire from the Web

The problem is that this administration turns every event — no matter how dire — into a kind of anesthetized luxury fashion shoot, which leads us to some disturbing political truths.

— rhonda garelick, The Cut, "Melania Trump and the Chilling Artifice of Fashion," 30 Aug. 2017
The dire references were to a new Texas law set to take effect on Friday.

— mary williams walsh, New York Times, "No, Sept. 1 Isn’t Deadline for Hurricane-Damage Claims Under New Texas Law," 29 Aug. 2017
As a strengthening Hurricane Harvey approaches Texas amid increasingly dire forecasts of catastrophic, days-long flooding, a lot of people are about to learn the name of the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency: Brock Long.

— benjamin hart, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump’s FEMA Director Doesn’t Seem Incompetent," 25 Aug. 2017
And contrary to those dire predictions of 1,200 spaces for delinquent youths, the number of juveniles in custody in the county’s network of juvenile halls and camps is a fraction of the estimate penciled out in the grant application.

— greg moran, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Juvenile crime rates plummet amid new approaches to tackling youth crime," 19 Aug. 2017
This area, which straddles both K-Town and East Hollywood, is in dire need of a community spot, and the nostalgia factor should only add to the coffee shop’s appeal.

— neal broverman, Los Angeles Magazine, "Developers Have Uncovered a Brilliant Use for LA’s Old Gas Stations," 16 Aug. 2017
As the nationwide housing crisis becomes more dire for those who are the most vulnerable, South Florida has been ranked as the metro area with the highest percentage of low-income renters who can’t find affordable housing.

— linda robertson, miamiherald, "South Florida ranked as the hardest place in nation for low-income renters to find affordable housing," 16 Aug. 2017
Although the European mink’s situation isn’t that dire, and artificial insemination has never been done with the species, Põdra agrees that’s a good idea.

— kata karáth, Science | AAAS, "Scientists think they can save the European mink—by killing its ruthless rivals," 16 Aug. 2017
This clearly contributes to the dire situation in Kings Landing with no grain and limited supplies.

— matt miller, Esquire, "All of Cersei's Banking Problems Are About to Be Very Important on Game of Thrones," 10 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dire.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

dire Straits and furies

Dire and fury share a history in Roman mythology, as each of these words is connected to the Erinyes, the avenging and terrifying deities of ancient myth who tormented criminals. The Romans referred to these goddesses as either the Dirae or the Furiae. The former is from the Latin word dirus, from which dire is descended, and the latter comes from furere, from where we get fury. The word dire is often found in conjunction with straits; in dire straits is used of a situation that is very bad or difficult. Our records indicate that this phrase began to be used in English at the end of the 18th century, when it appeared in Francis Fawkes’s The Argonautics of Apollonius Rhodius: “When now the heroes through the vast profound, Reach the dire straits with rocks encompass’d round.”