desperately

[des-per-it-lee, -prit-]

adverb

1. in a reckless or dangerous way because of hopelessness or urgency.

   In the movie, he’s the object of an intense police manhunt and scrambles desperately around Belfast trying to escape.

2. in a way that shows urgent need or desire.

   He is highly motivated to put his all into everything he does, trying desperately to prove himself.

3. to a very serious or dangerous degree that leaves little hope.

   People without medical insurance may often suffer without care until they are desperately ill.

4. extremely or excessively.

   My weekend will be desperately dull, as I've been on vacation all week and have to catch up with work.

Other Word Forms

• quasi-desperately adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of desperately¹

desperate ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

"All of our companies have had six weeks of zero sales, but all the costs. The sector still desperately needs cash."

From BBC

Mandaric spent a year there, desperately trying to get his cash out of the Balkans, then moved to United States where he founded a computer-components firm and an electronics business.

From BBC

Dawn is as skin-deep as it gets, a character with no discernible motives and a frustrating absence of realism in a film that’s desperately aiming for authenticity.

From Salon

"She just desperately wanted to get the help, she wanted to live."

From BBC

Londoners "should trust us because the vast majority of men and women are on the streets day in-day out, working desperately hard to protect them", he said of the force.

From BBC

Related Words

• badly 
• dangerously www.thesaurus.com
• fiercely 
• greatly 
• perilously 
• seriously