Categories: GeneralSynonyms

DIRE: Synonyms and Related Words. What is Another Word for DIRE?

Need another word that means the same as “dire”? Find 44 synonyms and 30 related words for “dire” in this overview.

The synonyms of “Dire” are: desperate, awful, direful, dread, dreaded, dreadful, fearful, fearsome, frightening, horrendous, horrific, terrible, appalling, frightful, horrible, atrocious, grim, unspeakable, distressing, harrowing, alarming, shocking, outrageous, urgent, pressing, crying, sore, grave, serious, extreme, acute, drastic, ominous, portentous, gloomy, sinister, substandard, bad, deficient, defective, faulty, imperfect, inferior, mediocre

Dire as an Adjective

Definitions of "Dire" as an adjective

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “dire” as an adjective can have the following definitions:

  • Extremely serious or urgent.
  • (of a warning or threat) presaging disaster.
  • Causing fear or dread or terror.
  • Fraught with extreme danger; nearly hopeless- G.C.Marshall.
  • Of a very poor quality.
  • Fraught with extreme danger; nearly hopeless.

Synonyms of "Dire" as an adjective (44 Words)

acuteDenoting or designed for patients with an acute form of a disease.
An acute ward.
alarmingWorrying or disturbing.
Our countryside is disappearing at an alarming rate.
appallingCausing consternation.
His conduct was appalling.
atrociousOf a very poor quality; extremely bad or unpleasant.
An atrocious automobile accident.
awfulExtreme in degree or extent or amount or impact.
An awful speech.
badFeeling physical discomfort or pain tough is occasionally used colloquially for bad.
A bad mistake.
cryingDemanding attention.
A crying baby.
defectiveHaving a defect.
A defective appliance.
deficientOf a quantity not able to fulfill a need or requirement.
Deficient in common sense.
desperateDesperately determined.
There is a desperate shortage of teachers.
direfulExtremely bad; dreadful.
A career or vengeance so direful that London was shocked.
distressingCausing distress or worry or anxiety.
Distressing or disturbing news.
drasticForceful and extreme and rigorous.
Drastic measures.
dreadGreatly feared dreadful.
Polio is no longer the dreaded disease it once was.
dreadedCausing fear or dread or terror.
Polio is no longer the dreaded disease it once was.
dreadfulCausing or involving great suffering, fear, or unhappiness; extremely bad or serious.
The weather was dreadful.
extremeOf the greatest possible degree or extent or intensity.
Groups of his more extreme supporters rioted in front of parliament.
faultyHaving a defect.
Faulty logic.
fearfulLacking courage; ignobly timid and faint-hearted- P.B.Shelley.
A fearful glance.
fearsomeFrightening, especially in appearance.
The cat mewed displaying a fearsome set of teeth.
frighteningMaking someone afraid or anxious; terrifying.
A frightening experience.
frightfulProvoking horror- Winston Churchill.
A frightful mistake.
gloomyCausing dejection.
A gloomy corridor badly lit by oil lamps.
graveOf great gravity or crucial import; requiring serious thought.
Grave responsibilities.
grimDepressing or worrying to consider.
His grim expression.
harrowingExtremely painful.
It was a harrowing experience.
horrendousExtremely unpleasant, horrifying, or terrible.
She suffered horrendous injuries.
horribleCausing or likely to cause horror; shocking.
The tea tasted horrible.
horrificGrossly offensive to decency or morality; causing horror.
Horrific injuries.
imperfectNot perfect; faulty or incomplete.
An imperfect grasp of English.
inferiorOf low or inferior quality.
Inferior goods.
mediocreOf only average quality; not very good.
He is an enthusiastic if mediocre painter.
ominousGiving the worrying impression that something bad is going to happen; threateningly inauspicious.
Ominous rumblings of discontent.
outrageousVery bold and unusual and rather shocking.
The outrageous claims made by the previous government.
portentousDone in a pompously or overly solemn manner so as to impress.
The author s portentous moralizings.
pressingExpressing something strongly or persistently.
He had pressing business in Scotland.
seriousActing or speaking sincerely and in earnest, rather than in a joking or half-hearted manner.
A serious book.
shockingCausing indignation or disgust; offensive.
Shocking behaviour.
sinisterGiving the impression that something harmful or evil is happening or will happen.
There might be a more sinister motive behind the government s actions.
sore(of a part of one’s body) painful or aching.
We re in sore need of him.
substandardBelow the usual or required standard.
Substandard spellings.
terribleIntensely or extremely bad or unpleasant in degree or quality.
Terrible handwriting.
unspeakableToo bad or horrific to express in words.
I felt an unspeakable tenderness towards her.
urgentOf an action or event done or arranged in response to an urgent situation.
She needs urgent treatment.

Usage Examples of "Dire" as an adjective

  • A dire emergency.
  • He was in dire need of help.
  • There were dire warnings from the traffic organizations.
  • A career or vengeance so direful that London was shocked.
  • The concert was dire.
  • Misuse of drugs can have dire consequences.
  • Dire news.

Associations of "Dire" (30 Words)

abominableUnequivocally detestable- Edmund Burke.
Abominable workmanship.
atrociousProvoking horror.
Atrocious taste.
awfulAwfully very.
We re an awful long way from the motorway.
bitterBeer that is strongly flavoured with hops and has a bitter taste brewed by top fermentation.
Bitter about the divorce.
dolorousFeeling or expressing great sorrow or distress.
A dolorous and repetitive tale of atrocity.
dreadfulExceptionally bad or displeasing.
There s been a dreadful accident.
enormityA grave crime or sin.
In careful usage the noun enormity is not used to express the idea of great size.
frightfulExtremely distressing.
There s been a most frightful accident.
graveA place where a broken or discarded object lies.
Faced a grave decision in a time of crisis.
griefAn instance or cause of intense sorrow.
Her death was a great grief to John.
grievousShockingly brutal or cruel.
Grievous bodily harm.
grimCausing dejection.
The grim task of burying the victims.
heartrendingCausing or marked by grief or anguish.
The heartrending words of Rabin s granddaughter.
hellishExtremely difficult or unpleasant.
An unearthly hellish landscape.
horribleVery unpleasant.
A horrible massacre.
horrificGrossly offensive to decency or morality; causing horror.
Horrific conditions in the mining industry.
introspectionThe examination or observation of one’s own mental and emotional processes.
Quiet introspection can be extremely valuable.
lamentable(of circumstances or conditions) very bad; deplorable.
The industry is in a lamentable state.
mournfulExpressing sorrow.
Mournful music.
sadOf things that make you feel sad.
I was sad and subdued.
sadlyTo a regrettable extent; regrettably.
Sadly the forests of Sulawesi are now under threat.
seriousOf great consequence.
Are you serious or joking.
severeSeverely simple.
A severe test of stamina.
solemnDignified and somber in manner or character and committed to keeping promises.
The judge was solemn as he pronounced sentence.
sorrowfulFeeling or showing grief.
Sorrowful widows.
terribleExceptionally bad or displeasing.
Despite passing my driving test first time I m a terrible driver.
tragedyThe dramatic genre represented by tragedies.
A tragedy that killed 95 people.
tragicVery bad or inadequate.
At school she s not a complete tragic but she s not exactly popular either.
unpleasantCausing discomfort, unhappiness, or revulsion; disagreeable.
When drunk he could become very unpleasant.
weightyOf great seriousness and importance.
A weighty argument.
Alexei

Recent Posts

BRAG: Synonyms and Related Words. What is Another Word for BRAG?

The synonyms and related words of "Brag" are: blow, bluster, boast, gas, gasconade, shoot a…

3 years ago

PIERCE: Synonyms and Related Words. What is Another Word for PIERCE?

The synonyms and related words of "Pierce" are: thrust, make a hole in, penetrate, puncture,…

3 years ago

WEARY: Synonyms and Related Words. What is Another Word for WEARY?

The synonyms and related words of "Weary" are: aweary, tired, tired out, exhausted, fatigued, overtired,…

3 years ago

KICK: Synonyms and Related Words. What is Another Word for KICK?

The synonyms and related words of "Kick" are: complain, kvetch, plain, quetch, sound off, give…

3 years ago

USELESS: Synonyms and Related Words. What is Another Word for USELESS?

The synonyms and related words of "Useless" are: futile, pointless, purposeless, impractical, vain, in vain,…

3 years ago

90+ Adjectives That Start with J: a List of Words with Explanation and Examples

Want to describe something with adjectives that start with 'J'? Though they are not numerous,…

3 years ago