See dire in Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus II
adjective
Portending future disaster:
apocalyptic, apocalyptical, baneful, direful, fateful, fire-and-brimstone, grave2, hellfire, ominous, portentous, unlucky. See luck, warnCausing or able to cause fear:
appalling, direful, dreadful, fearful, fearsome, formidable, frightful, ghastly, redoubtable, scary, terrible, tremendous. See fearCompelling immediate attention:
burning, crying, emergent, exigent, imperative, instant, pressing, urgent. See bigSo serious as to be at the point of crisis or necessary to resolve a crisis:
acute, climacteric, critical, crucial, desperate. See safety
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