Definition of dire
direr
;direst
1a : exciting horror dire sufferingb : dismal, oppressive dire days
2 : warning of disaster a dire forecast
3a : desperately urgent in dire need of assistanceb : extreme dire poverty
direly
adverbdireness
nounRead the Latest from M-W
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
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Hun Sen and some of his top ministers have frequently used strong rhetoric leading up to the vote, warning of dire consequences should the opposition win, in what has been seen as an attempt to intimidate voters into supporting him.
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The state Coastal Protection and Restoration authority updates the master plan every five years, and this latest version includes even more dire warnings of the potential effects of sea level rise than previous plans.
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Faced with the dire warnings, FWS state supervisor Larry Williams was left with little choice but to agree two hours later.
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The process of the U.S. withdrawing from the agreement could take at least three years, and scientists warn such a decision could have dire consequences for the planet.
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Protesters have flooded the streets of Venezuela for months — including on Wednesday — demanding new elections and faulting Maduro’s leadership for the country’s triple-digit inflation, surging crime rates, and dire shortages of food and medicine.
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Mike Dubke announced his resignation on Tuesday after less than three months on the job, a dire start to Trump’s first week back in Washington.
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But, in 1940, Lithuania was annexed by the Soviet Union, leaving Milosz with two equally dire choices: remain, and live under Stalinism; or return to Warsaw, and live under Nazism.
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The crisis in Marawi, home to some 200,000 people, has grown increasingly dire as the militants show unexpected tenacity, fending off a military that has unleashed attack helicopters, armored vehicles and scores of soldiers.
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.”
Origin and Etymology of dire
Latin dirus; akin to Greek deinos terrifying, Sanskrit dveṣṭi he hates
First Known Use: 1565
DIRE Defined for English Language Learners
dire
playDefinition of dire for English Language Learners
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: very bad : causing great fear or worry
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: warning of disaster : showing a very bad future
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: requiring immediate action : very urgent
DIRE Defined for Kids
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See words that rhyme with dire Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for dire Spanish Central: Translation of dire Nglish: Translation of dire for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of dire for Arabic speakers
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