Dire
Dire adjective - Causing fear.
Usage example: a series of dire tremors that hinted at a huge volcanic eruption
Formidable
Formidable adjective - Causing fear.
Usage example: a formidable, irascible old man who frightened the neighborhood children
Dire is a synonym for formidable in property topic. You can use "Dire" instead an adjective "Formidable", if it concerns topics such as fear, harsh, terrible, frightful.
Nearby Word: formidably
Mutual synonyms
Both words in one sentence
- Sailor Moon's Stars arc (manga version) demotes the Senshi so that instead of being a formidable team, they almost instantly get into dire straits and are temporarily killed off so that we can see how heroic Usagi is as she copes with such tragedy.
-
Balthus Dire, formidable Magic Knight, third in a line of thoroughly malevolent warlords ruling the local Mordor; evil enough to have a debilitating sunlight allergy normally only suffered by The Undead.
Source: Sorcerous Overlord
Cite this Source
Formidable and Dire. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/dire/formidable
Dire & Formidable. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/dire/formidable>.
Formidable or Dire. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/dire/formidable.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "dire" and "formidable" have occurred on timeline