dire
/ˈdaɪ̯ə(ɹ)/ adjective C1- Warning of bad consequences: ill-boding; portentous. · dire omens
- Requiring action to prevent bad consequences: urgent, pressing. · dire need (of)
- Expressing bad consequences: dreadful; dismal. · dire consequences; to be in dire straits
- Ferocious and of intimidating appearance, like a dire wolf.
Comparative direr · Superlative direst
From the library
“Father,” said Mercédès, stopping when she had reached the centre of the table, “sit, I pray you, on my right hand; on my left I will place him who has ever been as a brother to me,” pointing with a soft and gentle smile to Fernand; but her words and look seemed to inflict the direst torture on him, for his lips became ghastly pale, and even beneath the dark hue of his complexion the blood might be seen retreating as though some sudden pang drove it back to the heart.
Phillips dire disgrace must inevitably have been their portion.
During the sweltering summer of 1858, an unprecedented heat wave descended upon the burgeoning metropolis of London, exacerbating an already dire environmental crisis.
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