Synonyms for dire
daɪərdire

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. dire

   Awful should not be used of things which are merely disagreeable or annoying, nor of all that are alarming and terrible, but only of such as bring a solemn awe upon the soul, as in the presence of a superior power; as, the awful hush before the battle. That which is awful arouses an oppressive, that which is august an admiring reverence; we speak of the august presence of a mighty monarch, the awful presence of death. We speak of an exalted station, a grand mountain, an imposing presence, a majestic cathedral, a noble mien, a solemn litany, a stately march, an august assembly, the awful scene of the Judgment Day.

   Synonyms:
   alarming, appalling, august, awful, direful, dread, dreadful, fearful, frightful, grand, horrible, imposing, majestic, noble, portentous, shocking, solemn, stately, terrible, terrific

   Antonyms:
   base, beggarly, commonplace, contemptible, despicable, humble, inferior, lowly, mean, paltry, undignified, vulgar

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. desperate, direadjective

   fraught with extreme danger; nearly hopeless

   "a desperate illness"; "on all fronts the Allies were in a desperate situation due to lack of materiel"- G.C.Marshall; "a dire emergency"

   Synonyms:
   dread(a), fearful, dreaded, terrible, do-or-die(a), horrendous, fearsome, horrific, heroic, desperate, awful, frightening, despairing, direful, dreadful

   Antonyms:
   unalarming, noncritical, noncrucial

2. awful, dire, direful, dread(a), dreaded, dreadful, fearful, fearsome, frightening, horrendous, horrific, terribleadjective

   causing fear or dread or terror

   "the awful war"; "an awful risk"; "dire news"; "a career or vengeance so direful that London was shocked"; "the dread presence of the headmaster"; "polio is no longer the dreaded disease it once was"; "a dreadful storm"; "a fearful howling"; "horrendous explosions shook the city"; "a terrible curse"

   Antonyms:
   noncrucial, noncritical, unalarming

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:1.0 / 1 vote

1. direadjective

   Synonyms:
   dreadful, fearful, direful, shocking, terrible, horrid, horrible, awful, terrific, tremendous

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "dire":

   terrible, disastrous, desperate, appalling, serious, calamitous, dreadful, tragic, catastrophic, extreme, horrific, horrendous, horrible, difficult, severe, grave, awful, painful, dramatic, grim, pressing, hopeless, urgent, baleful, bleak, devastating

How to pronounce dire?

How to say dire in sign language?

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use dire in a sentence?

1. Tom Haines:

   The pilot shortage situation is really becoming dire, there are airliners, multi-hundred-million dollar wide body airliners in some parts of the world sitting idle because there aren’t enough pilots to fly them.

2. Fox Business:

   While I’m somewhat stunned by this news, doctors tell me I’m lucky as well, had I not been vaccinated, and with all my medical issues, this would be a far more dire situation.

3. Rob Jenkins:

   We're in a dire situation right now, the situation in southern Ethiopia fortunately does not rise to the dire situation of the other four, but the situation is deteriorating and might very well be catastrophic without additional interventions.

4. Felicia Maten:

   We were in a dire situation, i was so scared, I didn't know what to do.

5. Sheriff Chad Chronister:

   While these inmates put our deputy in danger, there were others who did the right thing by coming to Bridgette Harvey aid, and for that, I am grateful, thanks to the quick response of our Emergency Response Team and the inmates who showed compassion to help our deputy, a dire situation turned into the safe rescue of Deputy Lillian Jimenez.