Dire
adjective
Extremely serious or terrible.
The country is in dire need of food aid.
Often appears as...
- dire consequences
- dire need
Usage tips
Disapproving
adjective
Urgently needing something.
Many of the refugees are in dire straits.
Often appears as...
- in dire straits
- dire poverty
Usage tips
Disapproving
adjective
Be of a very poor quality.
The movie was dire.
Often appears as...
- dire performance
- dire state
Usage tips
Informal, Disapproving
Colloquial
adjective
Extremely serious or terrible.
The country is in dire need of food aid.
Often appears as...
- dire consequences
- dire need
Usage tips
Disapproving
adjective
Urgently needing something.
Many of the refugees are in dire straits.
Often appears as...
- in dire straits
- dire poverty
Usage tips
Disapproving
adjective
Be of a very poor quality.
The movie was dire.
Often appears as...
- dire performance
- dire state
Usage tips
Informal, Disapproving
Colloquial
Definition 1 of 3
Pro Tip 1/3Grave Importance
Used to express situations with serious implications, often life-affecting.
Wildlife faces dire consequences due to habitat loss.
Pro Tip 2/3Not Just Bad
Indicates a situation worse than bad; implies extreme negativity.
The town endured dire circumstances after the storm.
Pro Tip 3/3Intensity Marker
Amplifies the severity of a need or crisis.
He was in dire need of medical assistance.
Pro Tip 1/3Grave Importance
Used to express situations with serious implications, often life-affecting.
Wildlife faces dire consequences due to habitat loss.
Pro Tip 2/3Not Just Bad
Indicates a situation worse than bad; implies extreme negativity.
The town endured dire circumstances after the storm.
Pro Tip 3/3Intensity Marker
Amplifies the severity of a need or crisis.
He was in dire need of medical assistance.
Pro Tip 1/3Grave Importance
Used to express situations with serious implications, often life-affecting.
Wildlife faces dire consequences due to habitat loss.
Pro Tip 2/3Not Just Bad
Indicates a situation worse than bad; implies extreme negativity.
The town endured dire circumstances after the storm.
Pro Tip 3/3Intensity Marker
Amplifies the severity of a need or crisis.
He was in dire need of medical assistance.
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Video examples
What fear can teach us PIPE...
Even in today's world, their situation would be really dire, but think about how much worse it would have been then. No one on land had any idea that anything had gone wrong. No search party was coming to look for these men. So most of us have never experienced a situation as frightening as the one in which these sailors found themselves,
Video examples
Can you outsmart the...
because it can have dire consequences in many situations. Failure to recognize the fact that a compromise between two positions, one of which is morally indefensible, is also morally indefensible, has helped to perpetuate countless injustices large and small.
Video examples
How to tame your...
like I said -- soldiers, medical professionals -- for them, as we know, mind-wandering can be really dire. So we want to make sure we offer them very accessible, low time constraints to optimize the training, so they can benefit from it.
Video examples
What did dogs teach...
a diagnosis of diabetes in a human patient would remain tantamount to a death sentence until the early 20th century, its causes unknown. What changed this dire situation was the help of humanity's longtime animal Canis lupus familiaris,
Video examples
An eco-modernist...
that means we're firm believers in modernity and technological progress sure it's fun to fantasize about simpler lives but not for the billions of people around the world in dire poverty whose lives of hardship are not a choice they
Video examples
The case for having kids...
Now, I just want to stress that I'm completely aware of the very dire threats of global warming and climate change. I just want to acknowledge that choosing to have babies is a deeply, profoundly personal choice.
Video examples
The power of women's...
If you defend yourself, if you put a stake in the ground, there can be dire consequences. Now we reproduce these patterns not in big, bold and blunt ways, but in the everyday banality of life.
Video examples
Young David Attenborough...
after an hour I found on the forest floor the rinds and cause of durian fruit which I knew was the favorite food of the orang utan I showed it to the dire could come with me and he confirmed
Video examples
Black Market Demand for...
the deepest maybe stuff these men are dire key man who live in some guy who teak they are the custodians of one of the helmeted hornbills last remaining nesting areas
Video examples
Overview PIPE Exploring...
what we can take out and what we can put in without dire consequences to the nature of the ocean thus to the underpinnings of what makes life possible from us
Video examples
What fear can teach us PIPE...
Even in today's world, their situation would be really dire, but think about how much worse it would have been then. No one on land had any idea that anything had gone wrong. No search party was coming to look for these men. So most of us have never experienced a situation as frightening as the one in which these sailors found themselves,
Video examples
Can you outsmart the...
because it can have dire consequences in many situations. Failure to recognize the fact that a compromise between two positions, one of which is morally indefensible, is also morally indefensible, has helped to perpetuate countless injustices large and small.
Video examples
How to tame your...
like I said -- soldiers, medical professionals -- for them, as we know, mind-wandering can be really dire. So we want to make sure we offer them very accessible, low time constraints to optimize the training, so they can benefit from it.
Video examples
What did dogs teach...
a diagnosis of diabetes in a human patient would remain tantamount to a death sentence until the early 20th century, its causes unknown. What changed this dire situation was the help of humanity's longtime animal Canis lupus familiaris,
Video examples
An eco-modernist...
that means we're firm believers in modernity and technological progress sure it's fun to fantasize about simpler lives but not for the billions of people around the world in dire poverty whose lives of hardship are not a choice they
Video examples
The case for having kids...
Now, I just want to stress that I'm completely aware of the very dire threats of global warming and climate change. I just want to acknowledge that choosing to have babies is a deeply, profoundly personal choice.
Video examples
The power of women's...
If you defend yourself, if you put a stake in the ground, there can be dire consequences. Now we reproduce these patterns not in big, bold and blunt ways, but in the everyday banality of life.
Video examples
Young David Attenborough...
after an hour I found on the forest floor the rinds and cause of durian fruit which I knew was the favorite food of the orang utan I showed it to the dire could come with me and he confirmed
Video examples
Black Market Demand for...
the deepest maybe stuff these men are dire key man who live in some guy who teak they are the custodians of one of the helmeted hornbills last remaining nesting areas
Video examples
Overview PIPE Exploring...
what we can take out and what we can put in without dire consequences to the nature of the ocean thus to the underpinnings of what makes life possible from us
Example 1 of 10
Quote examples
Annaleigh Ashford
American Actress
As an actor, I always think that if someone does pick up a phone during a performance, something dire must be happening in their lives that is more important than theatre - some kind of tragedy they were attending to, or something. It's very uncomfortable if you don't know why they would pick up a phone and talk in the middle of a show.
Quote examples
Howard Coble
American Politician
At a time when we have much work to do to address our Nation's critical infrastructure, and, as I said, which is currently in dire need of upgrade and repair, this legislation is also a jobs bill and is obviously a jobs creator.
Quote examples
Alice Walker
American Author
I can be almost terminally grief-stricken because things are so dire, but at the same time, there's a real lightheartedness about just the recoverability of life, of how things change, how they're not the same, ever again.
Quote examples
Barbara Mikulski
American Politician
A pregnant woman facing the most dire circumstances must be able to count on her doctor to do what is medically necessary to protect her from serious physical harm.
Quote examples
Martin Luther King, Jr.
American Leader
The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be... The nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.
Quote examples
Ory Okolloh
Kenyan Activist
I didn't grow up in the slums or anything that dire, but I know what it is to grow up without having money or being able to support family.
Quote examples
Tiya Sircar
American Actress
Without imagination and without love, life can be pretty bleak. I think having both will get you through the most dire of situations.
Quote examples
Joyce Banda
Politician
I am tremendously inspired by many women around the world who work under dire circumstances to make a difference for their families.
Quote examples
Lee Min-ho
South Korean Actor
When I became an actor, I decided I had enough time, talent, and resources to support people who are in dire need of assistance.
Quote examples
John Sweeney
American Politician
We depend a lot on the guy upstairs in dire times, in addressing our concerns and looking for help.
Quote examples
Annaleigh Ashford
American Actress
As an actor, I always think that if someone does pick up a phone during a performance, something dire must be happening in their lives that is more important than theatre - some kind of tragedy they were attending to, or something. It's very uncomfortable if you don't know why they would pick up a phone and talk in the middle of a show.
Quote examples
Howard Coble
American Politician
At a time when we have much work to do to address our Nation's critical infrastructure, and, as I said, which is currently in dire need of upgrade and repair, this legislation is also a jobs bill and is obviously a jobs creator.
Quote examples
Alice Walker
American Author
I can be almost terminally grief-stricken because things are so dire, but at the same time, there's a real lightheartedness about just the recoverability of life, of how things change, how they're not the same, ever again.
Quote examples
Barbara Mikulski
American Politician
A pregnant woman facing the most dire circumstances must be able to count on her doctor to do what is medically necessary to protect her from serious physical harm.
Quote examples
Martin Luther King, Jr.
American Leader
The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be... The nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.
Quote examples
Ory Okolloh
Kenyan Activist
I didn't grow up in the slums or anything that dire, but I know what it is to grow up without having money or being able to support family.
Quote examples
Tiya Sircar
American Actress
Without imagination and without love, life can be pretty bleak. I think having both will get you through the most dire of situations.
Quote examples
Joyce Banda
Politician
I am tremendously inspired by many women around the world who work under dire circumstances to make a difference for their families.
Quote examples
Lee Min-ho
South Korean Actor
When I became an actor, I decided I had enough time, talent, and resources to support people who are in dire need of assistance.
Quote examples
John Sweeney
American Politician
We depend a lot on the guy upstairs in dire times, in addressing our concerns and looking for help.
Example 1 of 10
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