dire

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin dīrus (“fearful, ominous”).

adj

1. Warning of bad consequences: ill-boding; portentous.
   dire omens
2. Requiring action to prevent bad consequences: urgent, pressing.
   dire need (of)
   One of the hidden glories of Victorian engineering is proper drains.[…]But out of sight is out of mind. And that, together with the inherent yuckiness of the subject, means that many old sewers have been neglected and are in dire need of repair. 2014-06-14, “It's a gas”, in The Economist, volume 411, number 8891
3. Expressing bad consequences: dreadful; dismal.
   dire consequences;  to be in dire straits
   Cristiana Paşca Palmer, the executive secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, said the destruction of the world’s biggest rainforest was a grim reminder that a fresh approach needed to stabilise the climate and prevent ecosystems from declining to a point of no return, with dire consequences for humanity. August 30, 2019, Jonathan Watts, “Amazon fires show world heading for point of no return, says UN”, in The Guardian
4. (informal) Bad in quality, awful, terrible.
   His dire blunder allowed her to checkmate him with her next move.
   A second Norwich goal in four minutes arrived after some dire Newcastle defending. Gosling gave the ball away with a sloppy back-pass, allowing Crofts to curl in a cross that the unmarked Morison powered in with a firm, 12-yard header. December 10, 2011, Arindam Rej, “Norwich 4-2 Newcastle”, in BBC Sport