Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Dire

Dire

(dīr)
,
Adj.
[
Com
par.
Direr
(dīr′ẽr)
;
sup
erl.
Direst
.]
[L.
dirus
; of uncertain origin.]
1.
Ill-boding; portentous;
as,
dire
omens
.
2.
Evil in great degree; dreadful; dismal; horrible; terrible; lamentable.
Dire
was the tossing, deep the groans.
Milton.
Gorgons and hydras and chimeras
dire
.
Milton.

Webster 1828 Edition

Dire

DIRE

,
Adj.
[L.] Dreadful; dismal; horrible; terrible; evil in a great degree.
Dire was the tossing, deep the groans.

Definition 2024

dire

dire

See also: diré

English

Adjective

dire ‎(comparative direr or more dire, superlative direst or most dire)

  1. Warning of bad consequences: ill-boding; portentous.
    dire omens‎
  2. Requiring action to prevent bad consequences: urgent, pressing.
    dire need‎
    • 2014 June 14, “It's a gas”, in The Economist, volume 411, number 8891:
      One of the hidden glories of Victorian engineering is proper drains. […] But out of sight is out of mind. And that, together with the inherent yuckiness of the subject, means that many old sewers have been neglected and are in dire need of repair.
  3. Expressing bad consequences: dreadful; dismal; horrible; terrible; lamentable.
    dire consequences;  to be in dire straits‎
  4. (informal) Bad in quality, awful, terrible.
    • 2011 December 10, Arindam Rej, “Norwich 4-2 Newcastle”, in BBC Sport:
      A second Norwich goal in four minutes arrived after some dire Newcastle defending. Gosling gave the ball away with a sloppy back-pass, allowing Crofts to curl in a cross that the unmarked Morison powered in with a firm, 12-yard header.

(Can we add an example for this sense?)

Quotations

  • For usage examples of this term, see Citations:dire.

Derived terms

Translations

See also

Anagrams

French

Etymology

From Middle French dire, from Old French dire, from Latin dīcere, present active infinitive of dīcō, from Proto-Italic *deikō, from Proto-Indo-European *déyḱti ‎(“to show, point out”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /diʁ/
  • Rhymes: -iʁ

Verb

dire

  1. to say, to tell

Conjugation

Derived terms

Noun

dire m ‎(plural dires)

  1. saying (that which is said)
  2. belief, opinion

Anagrams

Italian

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Latin dīcere, present active infinitive of dīcō, from Proto-Italic *deikō, from Proto-Indo-European *déyḱti ‎(“to show, point out”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈdire/, [ˈd̪iː.re]

Verb

dire

  1. (transitive, intransitive) to say, tell
  2. (transitive, intransitive) to recite
  3. (transitive, intransitive) to mean
  4. (transitive, intransitive) to think
  5. (transitive, intransitive) to admit

Conjugation

Related terms

Anagrams

Latin

Pronunciation

  • (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈdiː.re/, [ˈdiː.rɛ]

Adjective

dīre

  1. vocative masculine singular of dīrus

References

  • dire in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French dire, from Latin dīcere, present active infinitive of dīcō.

Verb

dire

  1. to say (express using language)

Descendants

Occitan

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Old Provençal dir, dire, from Latin dīcere, present active infinitive of dīcō.

Verb

dire

  1. to say (express using language)
  2. to mean; to signify

Conjugation

Old French

Etymology

From Latin dīcere, present active infinitive of dīcō.

Verb

dire

  1. (chiefly intransitive) to say
  2. (transitive) to recount (a story)

Conjugation

This verb conjugates as a third-group verb. This verb has irregularities in its conjugation. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.

    Conjugation of dire (see also Appendix:Old French verbs)
simple compound
infinitive dire avoir dit
gerund en disant Use the gerund of avoir followed by the past participle
present participle disant
past participle dit
person singular plural
first second third first second third
indicative jo tu il nos vos il
simple
tenses		 present di dis dit dimes, dions, disons dites dient
imperfect disoie, diseie disoies, diseies disoit, diseit disiiens, disiens disiiez, disiez disoient, diseient
preterite dis desis dist desimes desistes distrent
future dirai diras dira dirons diroiz, direiz, direz diront
conditional diroie, direie diroies, direies diroit, direit diriiens, diriens diriiez, diriez diroient, direient
compound
tenses		 present perfect Use the present tense of avoir followed by the past participle
pluperfect Use the imperfect tense of avoir followed by the past participle
past anterior Use the preterite tense of avoir followed by the past participle
future perfect Use the future tense of avoir followed by the past participle
conditional perfect Use the conditional tense of avoir followed by the past participle
subjunctive que jo que tu qu’il que nos que vos qu’il
simple
tenses		 present dïe dïes dïe diiens, dions, disiens, disons diiez, disiez dïent
imperfect desisse desisses desist desissons, desissiens desissoiz, desissez, desissiez desissent
compound
tenses		 past Use the present subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle
pluperfect Use the imperfect subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle
imperative – tu – nos vos –
— di — dimes, dions, disons dites —

Descendants

References

  • “Appendix E: Irregular Verbs” in E. Einhorn (1974), Old French: A Concise Handbook, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-09838-6, page 153

Old Provençal

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Latin dīcere, present active infinitive of dīcō.

Verb

dire

  1. to say

Descendants

Walloon

Etymology

From Old French dire, from Latin dīcō, dīcere.

Verb

dire

  1. to say

Etymology

Borrowing from Latin dirus ‎(“fearful, ominous”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈdaɪ̯ə(ɹ)/
  • Rhymes: -aɪə(ɹ)

Similar Results