Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Having lost all hope; despairing.
- adjective Marked by, arising from, or showing despair.
- adjective Reckless or violent because of despair.
- adjective Undertaken out of extreme urgency or as a last resort.
- adjective Nearly hopeless; critical.
- adjective Suffering or driven by great need or distress.
- adjective Extremely intense.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Having no hope; hopeless; despairing.
- Without care for safety; extremely rash; reckless from despair, passion, or ferocity: as, a desperate man.
- Done or resorted to without regard to consequences, or in the last extremity; showing despair or recklessness; extremely hazardous: as, a desperate undertaking; desperate remedies.
- Beyond hope of recovery; irretrievable; irremediable; hopeless: as, desperate fortunes; a desperate situation or condition.
- Such as to be despaired of; extremely difficult to do, manage, cure, or reclaim.
- Synonyms and Headlong, violent, mad, wild, furious, frantic.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective obsolete Without hope; given to despair; hopeless.
- adjective Beyond hope; causing despair; extremely perilous; irretrievable; past cure, or, at least, extremely dangerous
- adjective Proceeding from, or suggested by, despair; without regard to danger or safety; reckless; furious.
- adjective Extreme, in a bad sense; outrageous; -- used to mark the extreme predominance of a bad quality.
- noun obsolete One desperate or hopeless.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Being filled with, or in a state of
despair ;hopeless . - adjective Having reckless abandon in the pursuit of an extreme desire.
- adjective Extremely
intense .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective desperately determined
- noun a person who is frightened and in need of help
- adjective showing extreme urgency or intensity especially because of great need or desire
- adjective arising from or marked by despair or loss of hope
- adjective fraught with extreme danger; nearly hopeless
- adjective (of persons) dangerously reckless or violent as from urgency or despair
- adjective showing extreme courage; especially of actions courageously undertaken in desperation as a last resort
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Bafyau appealed to them to refuse to be recruited by what he called desperate politicians.
Election Violence Leaves 12 Dead in Nigerian Akwa Ibom State 2011
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So I've been -- I've been happy to be able to, you know, to pick the project that I choose and not have to make what I call desperate career choices.
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Opposition MPs have assailed Harper for what they called a desperate ploy to cling to power despite the fact that proroguing Parliament would preclude any major spending at a time of economic crisis.
Archive 2008-12-01 CC 2008
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Opposition MPs have assailed Harper for what they called a desperate ploy to cling to power despite the fact that proroguing Parliament would preclude any major spending at a time of economic crisis.
Mr Harper, Canada Deserves Better Lindsay Stewart 2008
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In Iraq today, Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki is blaming what he calls desperate terrorists and Saddamists for a bloody attack at a Baghdad University.
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(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: The mayor of New Orleans has issued what he calls a desperate S.O.S. appeal to try to help people stranded, stuck inside the New Orleans Convention Center as opposed to the Superdome.
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That she gave new meaning to the word desperate, for another.
Sam Francine Pascal 2001
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The doorman caught a glimpse of him engaged in what he described as a desperate fight with another man and ran to fetch the constables he'd just seen pass by.
Ripping Time Asprin, Robert 2000
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Mr Swanepoel said it was clear that the ANC was attempting to discredit the NP in the eyes of the black community in what he termed a desperate attempt to hold on to their support.
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But he also took a hard slap at what he termed "desperate" Republican rivals who have stepped up their attacks on his record in private business - a group that includes Perry, Gingrich and Huntsman.
News - latimes.com By Mark Z. Barabak 2012
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