1. (

• desperate ,
• dire

) 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 ,
• dreaded ,
• dreadful ,
• fearful ,
• fearsome ,
• frightening ,
• horrendous ,
• horrific ,
• terrible

) 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" ;