1. most extreme in degree; most urgent or desperate
Usage: superlative form of ‘dire’

Examples

• The refugees faced the direst conditions imaginable.
• In our direst hour, help finally arrived.
• The company was in direst need of new funding.
• She made the direst predictions about the economy.
• The direst consequences would follow if we failed to act.
• Even in the direst circumstances, he remained optimistic.