American Dictionary

Define dictionary terms easily in our powerful online English dictionary.

Searching for...

No matching words found

Try a different search term or browse the dictionary

Definition dire in American English

dire adjective

adjective
/daɪr/
1

very severe or serious

Example

News reports portray the situation as dire.

Example

Refugees are arriving in dire need of food and medical attention.

Example

The farming industry in this country is in extremely dire straits.

Synonyms and related words
2

saying that something very bad is going to happen

Example

The newspapers have all issued dire warnings about the consequences of failure for the government.

Synonyms and related words
3

of a very low standard

Example

The hotel we stayed in was dire.

Synonyms and related words
Definition dire in American English