dire

/ˈdaɪə/DYR

/ˈdaɪɹ/DYR

Meaningdreadful

Common meaning: extremely serious

Other meanings: dreadful

dirdreadful, ominousLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 585 · scan

Journey through time

Latindīrus, -a, -um‘dreadful, ominous’
Englishdire‘extremely serious’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Latin dīrus ‘dreadful, ominous’.

Roots

dīrus, -a, -um Latin “dreadful, ominous”

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