What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Fearful vs Dire - What's the difference?

fearful | dire | Related terms |

Fearful is a related term of dire.


As an adjective fearful

is frightening.

As a verb dire is

.

fearful

English

Alternative forms

* fearefull (obsolete) * fearfull (obsolete)

Adjective

(fearfuller)
  • Frightening.
  • Frightened, filled with terror.
  • * 1590 , (Edmund Spenser), The Faerie Queene , III.4:
    • Those two great champions did attonce pursew / The fearefull damzell with incessant payns [...].
  • Terrible.
  • Tending to fear.
    • fearful boy

    Synonyms

    * (frightened) frightened, timid, timorous * See also

    External links

    * *

    dire

    English

    Adjective

    (en-adj)
  • Warning of bad consequences: ill-boding; portentous.
  • Requiring action to prevent bad consequences: urgent, pressing.
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2014-06-14, volume=411, issue=8891, magazine=(The Economist)
    • , title= It's a gas , passage=One of the hidden glories of Victorian engineering is proper drains.
  • Expressing bad consequences: dreadful; dismal; horrible; terrible; lamentable.
  • (label) Bad in quality, awful, terrible.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2011, date=December 10, author=Arindam Rej, work=BBC Sport
    • , title= Norwich 4-2 Newcastle , passage=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.}}

    Quotations

    * (English Citations of "dire")

    Derived terms

    * direful * direly * direness * dire sisters * dire straits * dire wolf

    See also

    * voir dire

    Anagrams

    * * * ----