dire

CEFRC1

/ˈdaɪ̯ə(ɹ)/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Extremely serious, urgent, or terrible.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    Expressing bad consequences: dreadful; dismal.

Examples

  • Not without sorrow shalt thou twice speak words so dire.

  • The economy is in dire need of a jump-start.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
4
Synonyms
5

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. Requiring action to prevent bad consequences: urgent, pressing.

  2. Warning of bad consequences: ill-boding; portentous.

  3. Ferocious and of intimidating appearance, like a dire wolf.

More examples

In context

  • Exporters are in dire straights.

  • dire consequences; to be in dire straits

  • dire need (of)

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The drought created a blank need for water in the entire parched region.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

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