Dictionary

dire en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˈdaɪ̯ə(ɹ)/
• (US) audio

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin dīrus (“fearful, ominous”).

Meanings

1. Warning of bad consequences: ill-boding; portentous.
   • dire omens
2. Requiring action to prevent bad consequences: urgent, pressing.
   • dire need (of)
   • One of the hidden glories of Victorian engineering is proper drains.[…]But out of sight is out of mind. And that, together with the inherent yuckiness of the subject, means that many old sewers have been neglected and are in dire need of repair. 2014 June 14, “It's a gas”, in The Economist, volume 411, number 8891:
3. Expressing bad consequences: dreadful; dismal.
   • Cristiana Paşca Palmer, the executive secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, said the destruction of the world’s biggest rainforest was a grim reminder that a fresh approach needed to stabilise the climate and prevent ecosystems from declining to a point of no return, with dire consequences for humanity. 2019 August 30, Jonathan Watts, “Amazon fires show world heading for point of no return, says UN”, in The Guardian:
   • dire consequences;  to be in dire straits
4. (UK, slang) Bad in quality, awful, terrible.
   • And, of course, overlooking 1 ... Q-R8 mate, would be a dire mistake. 1973 May, Jack Straley Battell, “Announce the Mate!”, in Chess Life & Review:
   • His dire blunder allowed her to checkmate him with her next move.
   • A second Norwich goal in four minutes arrived after some dire Newcastle defending. Gosling gave the ball away with a sloppy back-pass, allowing Crofts to curl in a cross that the unmarked Morison powered in with a firm, 12-yard header. 2011 December 10, Arindam Rej, “Norwich 4-2 Newcastle”, in BBC Sport:
5. Ferocious and of intimidating appearance, like a dire wolf.

Forms

Deriveds

direness · dire wolf · direful · dire straits · dire sisters · direly · diresome · in dire straits

Relateds

voir dire

Synonyms

sombre · ill-omened · miserable · godawful · bad · odious · horrendous · fatal · sixth-rate · depressing · drearisome · fourth-rate · horrific · dire · sullen · rotten · bleak · saturnine · baleful · ordinary · forlorn · sullen · disconsolate · clamant · ill-starred · uncheery · horrible · sore · dismal · foul · urgent · crying · presageful · mirthless · hellish · woeful · shitawful · divine · foreboding · shitty · crapalicious · instant · dreich · inauspicious · augurous · presagious · gloomy · nefastous · boding · incompetent · bad · inauspicious · acute · crap · pathetic · dismal · pressive · gloomy · crappy · inadequate · lugubrious · dogshit · dreadful · rubbish · coarse · solemn · fifth-rate · no joke · somber · morose · peak · exigent · exigent · subpar · prodigious · acute · star-crossed · omenic · bodeful · inauspicate · foreboding · desolate · awful · gray · negative · drear · crummy · severe · corny · loathsome · dire · lousy · cheerless · uncheerful · wack · unfavorable · pressing · abysmal · ill-fated · unmerry · lackluster · portentous · miserable · gloomsome · rash · disastrous · foul · dreary · unhappy · wintry · sinister · sloppy · dire · grim · imperious · ill-boding · melancholy · inferior · horrid · dolesome · piss-poor · atrocious · dire · bleak · hopeless · brooding · dark · deityforsaken · doleful · disagreeable · joyless · intolerable · terrible · comfortless · inelegant · naff · sunless · lack-laughter · hideous · lousy · chronic · ominous · spiritless · gayless

Translations (86)

de schrecklich (expressing bad consequences) · ru дрянно́й (bad in quality) · cmn 不祥的 (warning of bad consequences) · fr extrême (expressing bad consequences) · fi hirveä (expressing bad consequences) · la dīrus (expressing bad consequences) · es funesto (expressing bad consequences) · it tremendo (expressing bad consequences) · pt mal-agouro (warning of bad consequences) · pt terrível (expressing bad consequences) · da ondskabsfuld (expressing bad consequences) · fr sinistre (warning of bad consequences) · ru злове́щий (warning of bad consequences) · no ondskapsfull (expressing bad consequences) · pt calamitoso (requiring action to prevent bad consequences) · es pésimo (bad in quality) · lv šausmīgs (expressing bad consequences) · ru ужа́сный (expressing bad consequences) · de verzweifelt (requiring action to prevent bad consequences) · fi hirveä (warning of bad consequences) · ru недоброка́чественный (bad in quality) · it terribile (expressing bad consequences) · bg ужа́сен (expressing bad consequences) · de händeringend (requiring action to prevent bad consequences) · ru нека́чественный (bad in quality) · fi pahaenteinen (warning of bad consequences) · es alarmante (warning of bad consequences) · es maligno (expressing bad consequences) · nl vreselijk (expressing bad consequences) · pt horrível (expressing bad consequences) · ru безотлага́тельный (requiring action to prevent bad consequences) · ru жу́ткий (expressing bad consequences) · fi kamala (expressing bad consequences) · bg злове́щ (warning of bad consequences) · ru сро́чный (requiring action to prevent bad consequences) · da skrækkelig (expressing bad consequences) · ru неотло́жный (requiring action to prevent bad consequences) · pt funesto (warning of bad consequences) · es de mal agüero (warning of bad consequences) · de fürchterlich (bad in quality) · es portentoso (warning of bad consequences) · ru мра́чный (expressing bad consequences) · de böse (warning of bad consequences) · hy չարագուշակ (warning of bad consequences) · ru низкока́чественный (bad in quality) · ru гнету́щий (warning of bad consequences) · nl sinister (expressing bad consequences) · de düster (warning of bad consequences) · it tragico (expressing bad consequences) · es nefasto (expressing bad consequences) · tr uğursuz (warning of bad consequences) · nl gevaarlijk (expressing bad consequences) · pl straszny (expressing bad consequences) · ru э́кстренный (requiring action to prevent bad consequences) · pt mal-agoirado (warning of bad consequences) · da ildevarslende (warning of bad consequences) · it catastrofico (expressing bad consequences) · de fatal (warning of bad consequences) · fr pressant (requiring action to prevent bad consequences) · cmn 可怕的 (expressing bad consequences) · es terrible (bad in quality) · fr funeste (warning of bad consequences) · nl verschrikkelijk (expressing bad consequences) · de furchtbar (expressing bad consequences) · no skrekkelig (expressing bad consequences) · ga léanmhar (bad in quality) · de furchtbar (bad in quality) · ru третьесо́ртный (bad in quality) · de schlimm (bad in quality) · bg стра́шен (expressing bad consequences) · fi kauhea (warning of bad consequences) · lt baisus (expressing bad consequences) · es urgente (requiring action to prevent bad consequences) · no skummel (warning of bad consequences) · fi kauhea (expressing bad consequences) · no illevarslende (warning of bad consequences) · fr terrible (expressing bad consequences) · nl omineus (warning of bad consequences) · de fürchterlich dringend (requiring action to prevent bad consequences) · ar ماسّ (requiring action to prevent bad consequences) · fi kamala (warning of bad consequences) · nl onheilspellend (warning of bad consequences) · de entsetzlich (expressing bad consequences) · pl poważny (expressing bad consequences) · ru стра́шный (expressing bad consequences) · de unheilversprechend (warning of bad consequences)