dire C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities US /daɪɚ/ UK /daɪə/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 adj extremely serious, urgent, or dreadful The refugees were in dire need of food and shelter. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adj · extremely serious, urgent,... dreadfulgravedesperateurgentcalamitousterriblecriticalgrievous ↔ Opposites mildtrivialfavorableauspicious Word family Forms direful Derived forms direlydireness Related forms direful Etymology AI details From Latin dirus ('fearful, ominous, ill-boding'), perhaps related to Greek deinos ('terrible'); first attested in English in the 16th century. dirus Latin *dwey- Proto-Indo-European View etymology graph -> Topics Describing Qualities External links Google Images Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary # dire **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** adj **IPA (US):** /daɪɚ/ **IPA (UK):** /daɪə/ ## Meanings 1. extremely serious, urgent, or dreadful ## Examples - The refugees were in dire need of food and shelter. ## Synonyms - dreadful - grave - desperate - urgent - calamitous - terrible - critical - grievous ## Antonyms - mild - trivial - favorable - auspicious ## Derived Forms - direly - direness ## Related Forms - direful ## Roots and Affixes - Root: dirus - Root: *dwey- ## Etymology From Latin dirus ('fearful, ominous, ill-boding'), perhaps related to Greek deinos ('terrible'); first attested in English in the 16th century. ## AI Etymology Dire is from Latin dirus ('fearful, ominous, ill-boding'), perhaps related to Greek deinos ('terrible'); first attested in English in the 16th century. In present-day use, it means extremely serious, urgent, or dreadful. Derived formations include direly and direness. Related vocabulary includes direful. ## Topics - Describing Qualities markdown