direness

Variant of dire

dire definition

dire (dīr)

adjective direr dir′er, direst dir′·est

  1. arousing terror or causing extreme distress; dreadful; terrible
  2. calling for quick action; urgent a dire need

Etymology: L dirus, fearful < IE base *dwei-, to fear > Gr deimos, panic

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.