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
-
If the sky turns ominous and thunder can be heard, find a secure place for shelter.—
KANSAS CITY STAR WEATHER BOT,
Kansas City Star,
27 Apr. 2026
-
With the game tied and things looking ominous for the Galaxy, Elijah Wynder was held on a cross into the box.—
Damian Calhoun,
Daily News,
27 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
This isn’t the terrifying Frost of modernist criticism—although the poem is fully aware of darkness, and its world, on the cusp of World War I, like ours, certainly had its terrors.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
24 Apr. 2026
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Most prior visits had morphed into extended trips into a terrifying medical underworld — to a purgatory known as emergency department boarding.—
Elisabeth Rosenthal,
Miami Herald,
24 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The situation sparked immediate on-the-ground reporting from journalists across the media spectrum who took to social media platforms to deliver urgent reports.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
26 Apr. 2026
-
The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan said people have reported to them and the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center that they've been denied urgent and routine medical care over the past 10 months.—
Nick Lentz,
CBS News,
26 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
At first glance, AI companions for lonely seniors can seem dystopian, looking less like innovation than a bleak sign of social failure.—
Catherine Thorbecke,
Twin Cities,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Things are impossibly bleak for the Rockets, which were without Kevin Durant for the second game this series.—
Dan Santaromita,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Upending age-old narrative traditions, Paul’s heroism takes a sinister turn when Herbert reveals that the Bene Gesserit, an Illuminati-like secretive order of psychic matriarchs, has long been conditioning the Fremen to expect the arrival of a messiah, or mahdi, in their native tongue.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
29 Apr. 2026
-
This advertised butt jokes, campy fight montages and sinister Seth Rogen laughs.—
Clare Mulroy,
USA Today,
28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
There's also a perception that squishy invertebrates — creatures without backbones — weren't formidable enough to join the ranks of top predators.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
24 Apr. 2026
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Stretching up to 62 feet long, the ancient predator dwarfed modern giant squid and may have rivaled some of the most formidable hunters of the Cretaceous oceans.—
Ryan Brennan,
Charlotte Observer,
24 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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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
-
Floyd’s sincerity, the startling extremity of his concern for the comfort of others, snaps Clark out of his depressed, and depressing, complacency.—
Alexandra Schwartz,
New Yorker,
24 Apr. 2026
-
That’s already a depressing number.—
Shawn Tully,
Fortune,
23 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dire.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dire. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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