dress vs attire

dress and attire both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
dress	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
attire	Yes	No	Yes	No

As nouns, dress and attire are synonyms defined as:

dress and attire: clothing of a distinctive style or for a particular occasion

Other synonyms of dress include garb.

As verbs, attire is a hyponym of dress; that is, attire is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than dress:

dress: put on clothes
attire: put on special clothes to appear particularly appealing and attractive

As verbs, attire is a hypernym of dress; that is, attire is a word with a broader meaning than dress:

dress: dress or groom with elaborate care
attire: put on special clothes to appear particularly appealing and attractive

dress (noun)	attire (noun)
a one-piece garment for a woman; has skirt and bodice	clothing of a distinctive style or for a particular occasion
clothing of a distinctive style or for a particular occasion
clothing in general

dress (adjective)	attire (adjective)
(of an occasion) requiring formal clothes
suitable for formal occasions

dress (verb)	attire (verb)
put on clothes	put on special clothes to appear particularly appealing and attractive
provide with clothes or put clothes on
apply a bandage or medication to
arrange attractively
dress or groom with elaborate care
give a neat appearance to
dress in a certain manner
kill and prepare for market or consumption
convert into leather
put a dressing on
put a finish on
cultivate, tend, and cut back the growth of
provide with decoration
cut down rough-hewn (lumber) to standard thickness and width
decorate (food), as with parsley or other ornamental foods
arrange in ranks