dire
/ˈdaɪ̯ə(ɹ)/adjective
dire is spelled D-I-R-E: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 4.6 times per million words in written English, the 11,870th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, dire means “Warning of bad consequences: ill-boding; portentous” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in dire?
| Letters | 4: D-I-R-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.6 times per million words; the 11,870th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is dire?
Dire appears 4.6 times per million words in written English, the 11,870th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce dire?
- /ˈdaɪ̯ə(ɹ)/
Dire has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-dire.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with dire?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as dire.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: ride, dier.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of dire
- direr comparative
- more dire comparative
- direst superlative
- most dire superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does dire mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Warning of bad consequences: ill-boding; portentous.
dire omens
- 2
Requiring action to prevent bad consequences: urgent, pressing.
dire need (of)
- 3
Expressing bad consequences: dreadful; dismal.
dire consequences; to be in dire straits
- 4
UKslangBad in quality, awful, terrible.
His dire blunder allowed her to checkmate him with her next move.
- 5
Ferocious and of intimidating appearance, like a dire wolf.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Dire in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | funeste, sinistre , pressant , extrême, terrible |
| German | düster, böse, fatal, unheilversprechend , verzweifelt, händeringend |
| Portuguese | mal-agoirado, mal-agouro, funesto , calamitoso , horrível, terrível |
| Spanish | de mal agüero, portentoso, alarmante , urgente , maligno, nefasto |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does dire come from?
Borrowed from Latin dīrus (“fearful, ominous”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).