dire
Word family adjectivedirefuldireadverbdirefullynoundirefulnessdireness
dire /daɪə $ daɪr/ ●○○ adjectiveadj 1 BADPROBLEMextremely serious or terrible 极其严重的,极可怕的 warnings of dire consequences that often don’t come true 对严重后果的警告,尽管这些后果常常不会出现
The country is in dire need of food aid. 这个国家急需食品援助。
The situation looked dire. 情况看来非常严重。
2 be in dire straits to be in an extremely difficult or serious situation 处于岌岌可危的境地 Everyone agrees the sport is in dire straits. 人人都认为这个体育项目已处于岌岌可危的境地。
3 dire warning/prediction/forecast WARNa warning about something terrible that will happen in the future 可怕的警告/预测/预言 Last night there were dire warnings of civil war. 昨晚传来关于内战的可怕警告。
in dire need of• At the time, rebels were in dire need of arms.• Feeling in dire need of fresh air, Ellie went outside into the grounds.• But many of them are in dire need of repair. Origin dire (1500-1600) Latin dirus