dire vs direful

dire and direful both are adjectives.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
dire	No	Yes	No	No
direful	No	Yes	No	No

As adjectives, dire and direful are synonyms defined as:

Other synonyms of dire include awful, dread, dreaded, dreadful, fearful, fearsome, frightening, horrendous, horrific, terrible.

dire (adjective)	direful (adjective)
fraught with extreme danger; nearly hopeless	causing fear or dread or terror
causing fear or dread or terror