What does "desperate" mean?
A person in desperate circumstances or who is at the point of desperation, such as a down-and-outer, addict, etc.
Desperate
/ˈdɛsp(ə)ɹət/ adj, adv, noun
adj, adv, noun ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A person in desperate circumstances or who is at the point of desperation, such as a down-and-outer, addict, etc.
- Grammar: desperate is listed as adj, adv, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: despairing, dire, accident prone, accident-prone.
- Useful contrasts: calm, conservative, content.
- Usage evidence: Desperate men often do desperate things.
How to use "desperate"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "desperate" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "desperate" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "desperate" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "desperate" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "desperate" is acting as adj, adv, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "despairing" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "desperate", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A person in desperate circumstances or who is at the point of desperation, such as a down-and-outer, addict, etc.
- 2 a person who is frightened and in need of help wordnet
Adjective
- 1 In dire need (of something); having a dire need or desire.
"I hadn't eaten in two days and was desperate for food."
- 2 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."
- 3 Beyond hope, leaving little reason for hope; causing despair; extremely perilous.
"a desperate disease; desperate fortune"
- 4 Involving or employing extreme measures, without regard to danger or safety; reckless due to hopelessness.
"In England his flute was not in request; there were no convents; and he was forced to have recourse to a series of desperate expedients."
- 5 Extremely bad; outrageous, shocking; intolerable.
"a desperate offendress against nature"
Show 1 more definition
- 6 Intense; extremely intense.
"She enraged some country ladies with three times her money, by a sort of desperate perfection which they found in her."
Adjective
- 1 showing extreme courage; especially of actions courageously undertaken in desperation as a last resort wordnet
- 2 fraught with extreme danger; nearly hopeless wordnet
- 3 showing extreme urgency or intensity especially because of great need or desire wordnet
- 4 arising from or marked by despair or loss of hope wordnet
- 5 desperately determined wordnet
Show 1 more definition
- 6 (of persons) dangerously reckless or violent as from urgency or despair wordnet
Adverb
- 1 Desperately. US, dialectal
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Desperate men often do desperate things."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "desperate"?
Common synonyms include: despairing, dire, accident prone, accident-prone, aching for, acute.
How do you use "desperate" in a sentence?
Desperate men often do desperate things.
How do you pronounce "desperate"?
Pronounced /ˈdɛsp(ə)ɹət/.
Etymology
From Middle English desperat(e) (“desperate”), borrowed from Latin dēspērātus, perfect passive participle of dēspērō (“to be without hope”), see -ate (adjective-forming suffix). The noun is derived from the adjective or from the Latin source through substantivization, see -ate (noun-forming suffix).