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definitions

desperate

[des-per-it, -prit]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR desperate ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

noun

Obsolete. a desperado.

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RELATED WORDS

desperation, despond, despondence, despondency, discouragement, gloom, hopelessness

Origin of desperate

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin dēspērātus, past participle of dēspērāre to despair; see -ate1
Related formsdes·per·ate·ly, adverbdes·per·ate·ness, nounqua·si-des·per·ate, adjectivequa·si-des·per·ate·ly, adverb
Can be confuseddesperate disparate

Synonyms for desperate

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR desperate ON THESAURUS.COM
1. rash, frantic. 3. grave. 8. forlorn, desolate.

Synonym study

3. See hopeless.

Antonyms for desperate

1. careful. 3, 8. hopeful.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for desperateness

Historical Examples of desperateness

  • The desperateness of the situation was, however, manifest to all.

    Admiral Farragut

    A. T. Mahan

  • Judge of the efforts you have to make and of the desperateness of the struggle.

    Balzac

    Frederick Lawton

  • It is a sign of desperateness indeed; yea, of desperate madness.

  • In the moment of that thought the desperateness of his situation dawned upon him.

    Martin Eden

    Jack London

  • That "must" spells out the desperateness of the need and the strength of His love.

British Dictionary definitions for desperateness

desperate

adjective

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
Derived Formsdesperately, adverbdesperateness, noun

Word Origin for desperate

C15: from Latin dēspērāre to have no hope; see despair
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for desperateness

desperate

adj.

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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper