News reports portray the situation as dire. 新闻报道把局势描述得非常严峻。
in dire need Refugees are arriving in dire need of food and medical attention. 难民正在到来，亟需食品和医疗。
in dire straits (=in a very bad situation) The farming industry in this country is in extremely dire straits. 处于非常糟糕的境况
2
saying that something very bad is going to happen 预示灾难的
a dire warning/threat/prediction The newspapers have all issued dire warnings about the consequences of failure for the government. 各家报纸已就失败会引起的后果向政府发出警报。