How to Use dire in a Sentence

dire

adjective
  • They live in dire poverty.
  • The circumstances are now more dire than ever.
  • Some analysts are issuing dire economic forecasts.
  • All wild tigers are threatened with extinction, but Sumatran tigers are in especially dire straits because the world's zoos have only 235 of them in captive-breeding programs.
    Audubon, November-December 1998
  • Here’s what to know about it and how to tell something more dire isn’t going on.
    Katie Camero, SELF, 17 Oct. 2024
  • Even many less dire causes of leg numbness can be taken care of.
    Amanda Gardner, Health, 26 Jan. 2023
  • While some of the effects can be dire, the ocean does have some defense mechanisms in place.
    Devika Rao, theweek, 10 Oct. 2024
  • Already-dire economic indicators have worsened even more in recent weeks.
    Los Angeles Times, 3 Feb. 2023
  • The doctor who operated on the president, Benjamin Aaron, gave a more dire assessment.
    Brian Murphy, Washington Post, 2 Feb. 2023
  • The fact that one of the most conservative parts of Arizona is asking the state to regulate its groundwater is indicative of how dire the crisis has become.
    Ella Nilsen, CNN, 4 Feb. 2023
  • The musician and activist, 57, is weighing in on climate change as part of a new series of short films that highlight an increasingly dire need to make positive change.
    Rachel Desantis, Peoplemag, 26 Jan. 2023
  • The Bengals could possibly save cap space by restructuring some deals or cutting players to save money, although that’s not a dire necessity.
    Mohammad Ahmad, cleveland, 3 Feb. 2023
  • The effects that coups have on economies are no less dire.
    Comfort Ero, Foreign Affairs, 12 Dec. 2023
  • Merchant ably demonstrates the dire stakes of the Luddites’ plight.
    Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2023
  • Gloria didn’t seem to buy that things would be so dire.
    Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Dec. 2023
  • The plight of the indie comic creator may be even more dire.
    Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 July 2023
  • The situation for trans Russians in the wake of the new law is far more dire.
    Fred Weir, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 Aug. 2023
  • The chances of my survival in these dire conditions would be slim to none.
    Ryan Hampton, Time, 15 Aug. 2023
  • Things became so dire that Mack once asked Combs for cash at an event.
    Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 16 Aug. 2024
  • Daniele and Yohan’s relationship may be in the most dire state, though.
    Kelly Wynne, Peoplemag, 26 Sep. 2023
  • But the region is also in dire need of more physicians.
    Madeline Mitchell, The Enquirer, 10 May 2023
  • Was there ever a question of ending the season on such a dire note?
    Mark Peikert, IndieWire, 2 Oct. 2024
  • So, back in the day, the dire warnings to skip wild oysters during the heat of summer were warranted.
    Sheri Castle, Southern Living, 21 July 2023
  • The report from the Housing Commission was even more dire.
    Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 May 2024
  • That’s a strong sign that those areas of the genome code for traits that can’t be changed without causing dire side effects.
    Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 26 Dec. 2023
  • The conductor has been battling a dire form of brain cancer since 2021.
    Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune, 20 Sep. 2024
  • But there is still a dire need for effective treatments.
    Diana Kwon, Scientific American, 15 Aug. 2023
  • Bonds away One window into how dire things have become is in the market for its debt.
    Melvin Backman, Quartz, 13 Mar. 2024
  • Climate news can seem dire with little hope for a better world.
    Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY, 21 Apr. 2023
  • As a result, students across the state must learn amid dire conditions.
    Becca Savransky, Idaho Statesman, 27 Mar. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dire.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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