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

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

1. desperate(adj)

   a person who is frightened and in need of help

   "they prey on the hopes of the desperate"

2. despairing, desperate(adj)

   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)(adj)

   desperately determined

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

4. desperate(adj)

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

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

5. desperate, heroic(adj)

   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. desperate(adj)

   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, dire(adj)

   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. desperate(Adjective)

   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.

2. desperate(Adjective)

   Reckless abandon in the pursuit of an extreme desire.

3. desperate(Adjective)

   Extremely intense.

Origin: From desperatus, past participle of despero

Webster Dictionary(3.00 / 4 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Desperate(adj)

   without hope; given to despair; hopeless

2. Desperate(adj)

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

3. Desperate(adj)

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

4. Desperate(adj)

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

5. Desperate(noun)

   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. Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet:

   Tempt not a desperate man.

2. Feras Morad:

   He was in desperate need of help.

3. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie:

   Desperate people do desperate things.

4. Chris Christie:

   Sen. Rubio is on the air of desperate.

5. Sipho P Nkosi:

   We become desperate if we are not patient.

Images & Illustrations of desperate

Popularity rank by frequency of use