English Explanatory Dictionary

desperate

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. In dire need (of something); having a dire need or desire.
  2. Being filled with, or in a state of, despair; hopeless.
  3. Beyond hope, leaving little reason for hope; causing despair; extremely perilous.
  4. Involving or employing extreme measures, without regard to danger or safety; reckless due to hopelessness.
  5. Extremely bad; outrageous, shocking; intolerable.
  6. Intense; extremely intense.
adv
  1. Desperately.
noun
  1. A person in desperate circumstances or who is at the point of desperation, such as a down-and-outer, addict, etc.

Pronunciation

/ˈdɛs.p(ə.)ɹɪt/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-desperate.wav en-us-desperate.ogg /ˈdɛs.p(ə.)ɹət/ /ˈdes.p(ə.)ɹɪt/

Word forms

desperate more desperate desperater most desperate desperatest desperates

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).

Related words

despair desperado disparate

Derived words

desperately desperateness desperate times call for desperate measures desperate times require desperate measures desperation nondesperate overdesperate undesperate
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on D Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary