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

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

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. Alex Vatanka:

   The pandemic showed that the leaders in the Islamic Republic always want to skirt responsibility, and there was plenty of blame-shifting on this occasion, the regime is desperate for hard cash; it has looked to any and all sources possible.

2. Bridget Kane:

   It is because he's never ran (for Congress) before, because he is new, they were desperate for change.

3. British Prime Minister David Cameron:

   We've got to break the business model of the criminal smugglers and stop the desperate flow of people crammed into makeshift vessels from embarking on a fruitless and perilous journey.

4. 50 Cent:

   Right now he's desperate. He should be talking about me, not Eminem and Dre and everybody else. He'll lose, he knows that. The route that he has to take is the 'I'm a mad gangsta' hardcore route, and ain't nobody gonna believe him."--On his feud with bubblegum rapper Ja Rule.

5. Armstrong Williams:

   Mr. Trump should be nervous, and actually, desperate, a month ago, he had a double-digit lead over Dr. Carson in South Carolina. Dr. Carson is now leading 28-27. He's closing the gaps. Mr. Trump is fond of saying that when somebody, he attacks, the numbers go down. He has not figured out how to deal with Dr. Carson.

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