Synonyms for dire

Adjective

1. desperate, dire, critical (vs. noncritical)

usage: 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"

2. awful, dire, direful, dread(prenominal), dreaded, dreadful, fearful, fearsome, frightening, horrendous, horrific, terrible, alarming (vs. unalarming)

usage: 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"; "a fearful howling"; "horrendous explosions shook the city"; "a terrible curse"