desperate vs dire

desperate

adj
  • Extremely bad; outrageous, shocking; intolerable. 

  • In dire need (of something); having a dire need or desire. 

  • Intense; extremely intense. 

  • Being filled with, or in a state of, despair; hopeless. 

  • Beyond hope, leaving little reason for hope; causing despair; extremely perilous. 

  • Involving or employing extreme measures, without regard to danger or safety; reckless due to hopelessness. 

noun
  • A person in desperate circumstances or who is at the point of desperation, such as a down-and-outer, addict, etc. 

dire

adj
  • Bad in quality, awful, terrible. 

  • Warning of bad consequences: ill-boding; portentous. 

  • Expressing bad consequences: dreadful; dismal. 

  • Requiring action to prevent bad consequences: urgent, pressing. 

How often have the words desperate and dire occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )