desperado
Americannoun
plural
desperadoes, desperadosnoun
Etymology
Origin of desperado
1600–10; probably pseudo-Spanish alteration of desperate (as noun, now obsolete), in same sense
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Still, with his chest-hugging T-shirt and rugged handsomeness, Mr. Bernthal recalls John Travolta in his early prime rather than the sweaty, disheveled but endearing desperado memorably created by Mr. Pacino.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026
Instead of lawn or little potted palms around the pool, there are oversize stands of desperado sage, a fragrant hybrid between white sage and purple sage, growing so untamed they’re nearly spilling into the pool.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 30, 2024
“He certainly is not a negro desperado, but an intelligent gentleman, whose appearance speaks for him,” she wrote.
From Washington Post • Aug. 20, 2022
East Chicago police in the raiding squad said “two Department of Justice men” executed the desperado, but would not name them.
From Washington Times • Aug. 1, 2019
“Just fine,” she said, and wondered who else in Maycomb still remembered Scout Finch, juvenile desperado, hell- raiser extraordinary.
From "Go Set a Watchman: A Novel" by Harper Lee
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
