Definitions for desperate
ˈdɛs pər ɪt, -prɪtdes·per·ate

Princeton's WordNet(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. desperateadjective

   a person who is frightened and in need of help

   "they prey on the hopes of the desperate"

2. despairing, desperateadjective

   arising from or marked by despair or loss of hope

   "a despairing view of the world situation"; "the last despairing plea of the condemned criminal"; "a desperate cry for help"; "helpless and desperate--as if at the end of his tether"; "her desperate screams"

3. desperate, do-or-die(a)adjective

   desperately determined

   "do-or-die revolutionaries"; "a do-or-die conflict"

4. desperateadjective

   (of persons) dangerously reckless or violent as from urgency or despair

   "a desperate criminal"; "taken hostage of desperate men"

5. desperate, heroicadjective

   showing extreme courage; especially of actions courageously undertaken in desperation as a last resort

   "made a last desperate attempt to reach the climber"; "the desperate gallantry of our naval task forces marked the turning point in the Pacific war"- G.C.Marshall; "they took heroic measures to save his life"

6. desperateadjective

   showing extreme urgency or intensity especially because of great need or desire

   "felt a desperate urge to confess"; "a desperate need for recognition"

7. desperate, direadjective

   fraught with extreme danger; nearly hopeless

   "a desperate illness"; "on all fronts the Allies were in a desperate situation due to lack of materiel"- G.C.Marshall; "a dire emergency"

Wiktionary(3.67 / 3 votes)Rate this definition:

1. desperateadjective

   Being filled with, or in a state of despair; hopeless.

   I was so desperate at one point, I even went to see a loan shark.

   Etymology: From desperatus, past participle of despero

2. desperateadjective

   Reckless abandon in the pursuit of an extreme desire.

   Etymology: From desperatus, past participle of despero

3. desperateadjective

   Extremely intense.

   Etymology: From desperatus, past participle of despero

Webster Dictionary(2.60 / 5 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Desperateadjective

   without hope; given to despair; hopeless

2. Desperateadjective

   beyond hope; causing despair; extremely perilous; irretrievable; past cure, or, at least, extremely dangerous; as, a desperate disease; desperate fortune

3. Desperateadjective

   proceeding from, or suggested by, despair; without regard to danger or safety; reckless; furious; as, a desperate effort

4. Desperateadjective

   extreme, in a bad sense; outrageous; -- used to mark the extreme predominance of a bad quality

5. Desperatenoun

   one desperate or hopeless

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Desperate

   Desperate is a 1947 suspense film noir directed by Anthony Mann.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Desperate

   des′pėr-āt, adj. in a state of despair: hopeless: beyond hope: fearless of danger: rash: furious.—adv. Des′perately.—ns. Des′perateness, Desperā′tion, state of despair: disregard of danger: fury. [See Despair.]

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'desperate' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3806

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'desperate' in Written Corpus Frequency: #2918

3. Adjectives Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'desperate' in Adjectives Frequency: #493

Anagrams for desperate »

1. Departees

How to pronounce desperate?

1. Alex

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

How to say desperate in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of desperate in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of desperate in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Examples of desperate in a Sentence

1. Dave Campanelli:

   I think it will garner significant interest because people are desperate for something( in sports).

2. Rob Manwaring:

   Liberal Democrat's an obscure figure with a very low support base, who is up for reelection and this is desperate attention-seeking on Liberal Democrat part to remind, particularly a core of, Liberal Democrat minority supporters, who Liberal Democrat is.

3. Nathan Gill:

   Until the message is made abundantly clear that illegal economic migrants will not be processed, that boats will be turned back, thousands and thousands more sad and desperate lives will be lost in vain, all for your feelings of virtue, you’re not really helping people.

4. Eric Wagner:

   Over all the wind, waves,and engines, we thought we heard a desperate scream, exhausted and near the end, the boy told me he called out for Gods help. Then we showed up.

5. Matt Langston:

   Susan's opponents are desperate and resorting to disgusting gutter politics because they know she's the frontrunner, i'm looking forward to someone going to jail over these robocalls, but that's a Sunday problem. On Saturday, we win.

Images & Illustrations of desperate

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