1
as in ominous
being or showing a sign of evil or calamity to come
a dire forecast of a plunge in stock prices
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in terrifying
causing fear
a series of dire tremors that hinted at a huge volcanic eruption
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in urgent
needing immediate attention
a dire need for food and medicine in the famine-stricken country
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in bleak
causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer
with stock prices steadily falling, these are dire days on the trading floor
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of dire
Jahmil Eady – Freaky As gentrifiers take over her neighborhood, a Gullah Geechee woman, Annabelle (Melanie Nicholls-King) calls on ancestral knowledge, which has dire consequences for the newcomers who have begun to take over the land, ignorant of its history.
—
Richard Newby, HollywoodReporter, 27 Apr. 2026
For a population already weakened by years of pneumonia and decline, a new highly contagious eye infection could compound an already dire situation.
—Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 27 Apr. 2026
Gaza’s most dire conditions — the lack of food and medicine, continuing Israeli attacks, destroyed hospitals, schools and residential buildings, homelessness and overcrowding — now include rodents, climbing temperatures and open-air sewage.
—Jeremy Mikula, NBC news, 26 Apr. 2026
But so far this season has been dire for each of them.
—ABC News, 26 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dire
Richard Newby, HollywoodReporter, 27 Apr. 2026
For a population already weakened by years of pneumonia and decline, a new highly contagious eye infection could compound an already dire situation.
—Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 27 Apr. 2026
Gaza’s most dire conditions — the lack of food and medicine, continuing Israeli attacks, destroyed hospitals, schools and residential buildings, homelessness and overcrowding — now include rodents, climbing temperatures and open-air sewage.
—Jeremy Mikula, NBC news, 26 Apr. 2026
But so far this season has been dire for each of them.
—ABC News, 26 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dire
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dire
Adjective
-
As the cave shakes and thunders, the scene gets more ominous.—
Megan duBois,
Southern Living,
4 May 2026
-
Stay vigilant by monitoring the sky for ominous signs and listening for the telltale sound of thunder.—
Southern California Weather Report,
Oc Register,
4 May 2026
Adjective
-
While Krug was alive, authorities filed search warrants with communications companies that sought information about the increasingly terrifying messages the stalker was sending her, police records show.—
Tim Stelloh,
NBC news,
1 May 2026
-
When the show picks up, Lorcan is experiencing a strange series of nightmares centered around a terrifying rabbit-faced man, a creature pulled from Celtic mythology known as a Pooka.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
1 May 2026
Adjective
-
This intent aligned with the nation’s urgent emphasis on education as a defense against mob rule.—
Sebastian Smee,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
-
Yet instead of addressing those urgent challenges, state leaders have chosen to spend time and taxpayer dollars engineering political advantage.—
Jon Harris Maurer,
The Orlando Sentinel,
3 May 2026
Adjective
-
Speaking at an event held at the Aloft Hotel in Doral, a hub for Venezuelan diaspora activism, Guanipa painted a bleak picture of conditions inside Venezuela and sharply criticized the country’s current leadership, accusing those in power of clinging to control despite widespread rejection.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
2 May 2026
-
Without giving too much away about the endings of Caveat and Oddity, McCarthy (like Ohm) leans toward the bleak and open-ended.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
1 May 2026
Adjective
-
These forces would collide on the Near West Side on a spring evening, against the backdrop of labor unrest, union activity and a hint of influence from a sinister anarchist movement.—
Michael Peregrine,
Chicago Tribune,
4 May 2026
-
In terms of all-time hero's journeys, his is up there, from his humble beginnings on Tatooine to learning of his sinister dad to becoming a Jedi master to sacrificing himself to help the Resistance.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
3 May 2026
Adjective
-
Hathaway gets the most fun part to play in this formidable ensemble, starring as egotistical actress Daphne Kluger, who starts as the mark but ends up enlisting among the thieves.—
Chris Feil,
Vulture,
1 May 2026
-
Hekt’s debut album heralds a union between the left-field pop scene of his native Copenhagen and the influential Glasgow label Numbers, whose formidable run of 2010s releases—including several landmark SOPHIE singles—has left a neon imprint on the new Danish vanguard.—
Jazz Monroe,
Pitchfork,
1 May 2026
Adjective
-
After the primary autopsy, the coroner concluded Jackson's death was from acute Propofol intoxication, which caused the singer to go into cardiac arrest, NPR reported.—
Alex Gurley,
PEOPLE,
28 Apr. 2026
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Almost half are personally afraid of losing their job to AI, ranking it among the most acute individual stressors measured in the survey.—
Jessica Guynn,
USA Today,
28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
This level of security is a depressing necessity in modern-day Britain.—
Alexander Smith,
NBC news,
1 May 2026
-
The movie is simultaneously more depressing than the original and more saccharine, with a repellent amount of affection between characters who should know better.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dire.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dire. Accessed 8 May. 2026.
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