definition of
dire

[1] #1 dire s. [desperate] 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". wn

[2] #2 dire s. [awful, direful, dread, dreaded, dreadful, fearful, fearsome, frightening, horrendous, horrific, terrible] 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"; ". wn