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desperate - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'desperate' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Desperate [ a.]
- Without hope; given to despair; hopeless.
- Beyond hope; causing despair; extremely perilous; irretrievable; past cure, or, at least, extremely dangerous; as, a desperate disease; desperate fortune.
- Proceeding from, or suggested by, despair; without regard to danger or safety; reckless; furious; as, a desperate effort.
- Extreme, in a bad sense; outrageous; -- used to mark the extreme predominance of a bad quality.
2 . Desperate [ n.]
- One desperate or hopeless.

Meaning of 'desperate' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . desperate [ n]
Meaning (1):
- a person who is frightened and in need of help
Example in sentence:
  • they prey on the hopes of the desperate
2 . desperate [ s]
Meaning (2):
- arising from or marked by despair or loss of hope
Example in sentence:
  • a despairing view of the world situation;
  • a desperate cry for help;
  • helpless and desperate--as if at the end of his tether;
  • her desperate screams;
  • the last despairing plea of the condemned criminal
Meaning (3):
- (of persons) dangerously reckless or violent as from urgency or despair
Example in sentence:
  • a desperate criminal;
  • taken hostage of desperate men
Meaning (4):
- fraught with extreme danger; nearly hopeless
Example in sentence:
  • a desperate illness;
  • a dire emergency;
  • on all fronts the Allies were in a desperate situation due to lack of materiel
Meaning (5):
- showing extreme urgency or intensity especially because of great need or desire
Example in sentence:
  • a desperate need for recognition;
  • felt a desperate urge to confess
Meaning (6):
- desperately determined
Example in sentence:
  • a do-or-die conflict;
  • do-or-die revolutionaries
Meaning (7):
- showing extreme courage; especially of actions courageously undertaken in desperation as a last resort
Example in sentence:
  • 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;
  • they took heroic measures to save his life

Nearby Words:

descant descanted descanter descanting descend descendant descended descendent descender descendibility

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