desperate
/ˈdɛs.p(ə.)ɹɪt/ adjective B1- In dire need (of something); having a dire need or desire. · I hadn't eaten in two days and was desperate for food.· desperate to eat; desperate for attention
- 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.
- Beyond hope, leaving little reason for hope; causing despair; extremely perilous. · a desperate disease; desperate fortune
- Involving or employing extreme measures, without regard to danger or safety; reckless due to hopelessness. · He dove into the rushing waters in a desperate effort to save her life.
- Extremely bad; outrageous, shocking; intolerable.
- Intense; extremely intense.
Superlative desperatest
From the library
But the sight of an old man clinging to life with so desperate a courage, gave a fresh turn to his ideas, and inspired him with new courage.
won’t she be savage if I’ve kept her waiting!” Alice felt so desperate that she was ready to ask help of any one; so, when the Rabbit came near her, she began, in a low, timid voice, “If you please, sir—” The Rabbit started violently, dropped the white kid gloves and the fan, and skurried away into the darkness as hard as he could go.
A COBBLER unable to make a living by his trade and made desperate by poverty, began to practice medicine in a town in which he was not known.
While Miss Harris was counting out his change he rallied his powers for a final desperate attempt.
Other matches
Learn desperate in real texts
With a free account, hover any word in the library for its meaning, hear it read aloud, save words for review timed to your memory, and see how much of each book you already know.