dire
adj 1: fraught with extreme danger; nearly hopeless; "a
desperate illness"; "on all fronts the Allies were in a
desperate situation due to lack of materiel"-
G.C.Marshall; "a dire emergency" [syn: desperate,
dire]
2: causing fear or dread or terror; "the awful war"; "an awful
risk"; "dire news"; "a career or vengeance so direful that
London was shocked"; "the dread presence of the headmaster";
"polio is no longer the dreaded disease it once was"; "a
dreadful storm"; "a fearful howling"; "horrendous explosions
shook the city"; "a terrible curse" [syn: awful, dire,
direful, dread(a), dreaded, dreadful, fearful,
fearsome, frightening, horrendous, horrific,
terrible]
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Dire \Dire\ (d[imac]r), a. [Compar. Direr (d[imac]r"[~e]r);
superl. Direst.] [L. dirus; of uncertain origin.]
1. Ill-boding; portentous; as, dire omens.
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2. Evil in great degree; dreadful; dismal; horrible;
terrible; lamentable.
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Dire was the tossing, deep the groans. --Milton.
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Gorgons and hydras and chimeras dire. --Milton.
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