Transcription
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
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- [dahyuh r]
- /daɪər/
- /daɪər/
-
- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
-
- [dahyuh r]
- /daɪər/
Definitions of dire word
- adjective dire causing or involving great fear or suffering; dreadful; terrible: a dire calamity. 1
- adjective dire indicating trouble, disaster, misfortune, or the like: dire predictions about the stock market. 1
- adjective dire urgent; desperate: in dire need of food. 1
- noun dire (of a situation or event) Extremely serious or urgent. 1
- adjective dire urgent, desperate 1
- adjective dire news, consequences: dreadful 1
Information block about the term
Origin of dire
First appearance:
before 1560 One of the 32% oldest English words
First recorded in 1560-70, dire is from the Latin word dīrus fearful, unlucky
Historical Comparancy
Parts of speech for Dire
noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
dire popularity
A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 90% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".
dire usage trend in Literature
This diagram is provided by Google Ngram ViewerSynonyms for dire
adj dire
- acute — An acute accent is a symbol that is placed over vowels in some languages in order to indicate how that vowel is pronounced or over one letter in a word to indicate where it is stressed. You refer to a letter with this accent as, for example, e acute. For example, there is an acute accent over the letter 'e' in the French word 'café'.
- critical — If a person is critical or in a critical condition in hospital, they are seriously ill.
- desperate — If you are desperate, you are in such a bad situation that you are willing to try anything to change it.
- drastic — acting with force or violence; violent.
- burning — You use burning to describe something that is extremely hot.
Antonyms for dire
adj dire
- unimportant — of much or great significance or consequence: an important event in world history.
- trivial — of very little importance or value; insignificant: Don't bother me with trivial matters.
- fortunate — having good fortune; receiving good from uncertain or unexpected sources; lucky: a fortunate young actor who got the lead in the play.
- lucky — having or marked by good luck; fortunate: That was my lucky day.
- mild — amiably gentle or temperate in feeling or behavior toward others.
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