desperate
- reckless or dangerous because of despair, hopelessness, or urgency: a desperate killer.
- having an urgent need, desire, etc.: desperate for attention; desperate to find a job.
- leaving little or no hope; very serious or dangerous: a desperate illness.
- extremely bad; intolerable or shocking: clothes in desperate taste.
- extreme or excessive.
- making a final, ultimate effort; giving all: a desperate attempt to save a life.
- actuated by a feeling of hopelessness.
- having no hope; giving in to despair.
- Obsolete. a desperado.
Origin of desperate
Synonyms for desperate
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comSynonym study
Antonyms for desperate
Related Words for desperate
daring, dangerous, bold, violent, determined, frantic, furious, frenzied, great, urgent, terrible, fierce, critical, dire, forlorn, vain, futile, despondent, sad, madcapExamples from the Web for desperate
Contemporary Examples of desperate
We might have thought The Comeback was about a desperate actress's shameless struggle for fame.
Brinsley got out of jail last July, and was desperate and aimless.
After what seemed a desperate eternity, a doctor shook his head.
Sam watches her fall apart, tear herself apart and is desperate.
He and Jessen convinced a stunned and desperate CIA that they were the ones to run a new interrogation program.
Historical Examples of desperate
He turned and began to run homewards, like a hunted man in desperate flight.
VivietteWilliam J. Locke
Desperate hope in another man's God may do something for us, but it cannot do much.
The Conquest of FearBasil King
In this desperate situation he determined to send a written despatch to Athens.
Stories from ThucydidesH. L. Havell
It may be, however, that matters are not so desperate as they appear.
Main StreetNathaniel Hawthorne
"You're a desperate fellow," she said, half scared, and she laughed a little.
The Foolish LoversSt. John G. Ervine
desperate
- careless of danger, as from despair; utterly reckless
- (of an act) reckless; risky
- used or undertaken in desperation or as a last resortdesperate measures
- critical; very gravein desperate need
- (often postpositive and foll by for) in distress and having a great need or desire
- moved by or showing despair or hopelessness; despairing
Word Origin for desperate
Word Origin and History for desperate
early 15c., "despairing, hopeless," from Latin desperatus "given up, despaired of," past participle of desperare (see despair (v.)). Sense of "driven to recklessness" is from late 15c.; weakened sense of "having a great desire for" is from 1950s. Related: Desperately.