desperate

Pluraldesperates

1. 1
   adjective

   Needing or wanting something so badly that nothing else matters.

   Like being so thirsty that you would do anything for a drink of water.

   After hours without water, she was desperate for a drink.

   He was so desperate for money that he sold his bike.

   Similareager, anxious, hungry, frantic

   Note
2. 2
   adjective

   Done in a wild, risky way because there seems to be no other choice.

   Like grabbing any branch you can reach while you are falling.

   They made a desperate attempt to reach the shore before the storm hit.

   In a desperate move, he jumped from the burning building.

   Similarreckless, daring, rash, last-ditch, risky

   Oppositecautious, careful, prudent, calculated

   Note
3. 3
   adjective

   So bad or dangerous that there is almost no hope left.

   Like being on a sinking boat with no land in sight.

   The team was in a desperate situation, down by thirty points.

   Doctors said her condition was desperate.

   Similardire, grave, critical, perilous, hopeless

   Oppositehopeful, promising, secure

   Note
4. 4
   adjective

   Feeling that nothing good can happen and all hope is gone.

   Like feeling there is no way out of a dark, locked room.

   He felt desperate after losing his job and his home.

   She grew desperate when no one answered her calls for help.

   Similardespairing, hopeless, despondent, forlorn, distraught

   Oppositehopeful, optimistic, confident

   Note
5. 5
   adjective

   Very strong, deep, or intense.

   The desperate heat made it hard to breathe.

   There was a desperate stillness in the empty house.

   Similarintense, extreme, severe, bitter, profound

   Oppositemild, slight

   Note
6. 6
   adjective

   So bad that it shocks people and cannot be accepted.

   The traffic this morning was absolutely desperate.

   Their last performance was desperate, the worst I have seen.

   Similardreadful, appalling, terrible, awful, shocking

   Oppositeexcellent

   Note
7. 7
   nouncountable

   A person who is in a very bad situation and has almost no hope left.

   Like a person who has lost everything and has nowhere to go.

   The old man had become a desperate, sleeping in doorways and begging for change.

   The shelter took in desperates from across the city.

   Similarunfortunate, down-and-out, derelict, outcast

   Note
8. 8
   adverbdialectalUS

   Used before a describing word to mean very or extremely.

   I'm desperate tired and just want to sleep.

   It was desperate cold out on the porch last night.

   Similarvery, extremely, terribly, awfully, dreadfully

   Oppositeslightly

   Note

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