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“dire”
dire (adjective); direr, direst or more dire, most dire
1. Descriptive of something; such as, an event or a situation that causes terrible and dreadful consequences; calamitous: Fred's business advisor presented a dire economic forecast.
2. Characterized by severe, serious, or desperate circumstances: The people were in dire need of building materials because of the hurricane which also, naturally, caused dire poverty for many people.
3. Referring to something which is fraught with extreme danger; nearly hopeless: The situation became direr when Ted's mother saw him slip on the ice.
4. Concerning a circumstance which will result in a future catastrophe or have serious consequences: The terrorists threatened the people with the direst punishments of beatings and death for cooperating with their government.
5. Pertaining to the worst indications of trouble, disasters, or misfortunes: The preacher spoke to his congregation about the dire consequences of living immoral lives.
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2. Characterized by severe, serious, or desperate circumstances: The people were in dire need of building materials because of the hurricane which also, naturally, caused dire poverty for many people.
3. Referring to something which is fraught with extreme danger; nearly hopeless: The situation became direr when Ted's mother saw him slip on the ice.
4. Concerning a circumstance which will result in a future catastrophe or have serious consequences: The terrorists threatened the people with the direst punishments of beatings and death for cooperating with their government.
5. Pertaining to the worst indications of trouble, disasters, or misfortunes: The preacher spoke to his congregation about the dire consequences of living immoral lives.
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dire, dyer
dire (DIGHR) (adjective)
1. Referring to having terrible consequences; disastrous: Even the smallest mistake could have dire consequences.
2. Pertaining to requiring urgent and immediate action or treatment: The government is in dire need of reform.
2. Pertaining to requiring urgent and immediate action or treatment: The government is in dire need of reform.
dyer (DIGH'r) (noun)
A person who uses a soluble substance for staining or coloring materials by soaking in a coloring solution: Lorena spent the afternoon as a dyer of certain pieces of clothing and then the dyer of her mother's hair.
Edmond's cousin, who was a dyer in a fashionable hair salon, knew she was in dire trouble when the owner called her into the office.
This entry is located in the following unit:
Confusing Words Clarified: Group D; Homonyms, Homophones, Homographs, Synonyms, Polysemes, etc. +
(page 5)
(Latin: fearful, awful, boding ill, ill-omened, horrible, terrible)
Word Entries containing the term:
“dire”
dire straits (noun) (a plural form used as a singular)
1. A situation of emergency or desperate need: The dire straits of the flooded community were accentuated by the rapid drop in temperatures.
2. A very difficult or dangerous situation: The earthquake and the spread of cholera has left Haiti in dire straits for a long time.
2. A very difficult or dangerous situation: The earthquake and the spread of cholera has left Haiti in dire straits for a long time.
Word Entries at Get Words containing the term:
“dire”
voir dire (vwahr DIR)
"To speak the truth."
Interrogation process whereby prospective jurors are questioned by either the judge or by the prosecution or defense attorneys to determine their biases and prejudices.
Voir dire is the crucial process through which attorneys attempt to uncover prospective juror biases, which might prevent certain jurors from providing defendants with a fair and impartial trial.
Some people have argued that while voir dire has frequently been called "jury selection", this term really is inappropriate because those who sit on a jury are not selected as much as they are eliminated when they are determined to be unsuitable.
This entry is located in the following unit:
Criminal Court Words or Judicial Terms +
(page 7)