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      desperate
      noun
      A person in desperate circumstances or who is at the point of desperation, such as a down-and-outer, addict, etc.
      adjective
      In dire need (of something); having a dire need or desire.
      Being filled with, or in a state of, despair; hopeless.
      Beyond hope, leaving little reason for hope; causing despair; extremely perilous.
      Involving or employing extreme measures, without regard to danger or safety; reckless due to hopelessness.
      Extremely bad; outrageous, shocking; intolerable.
      Intense; extremely intense.
      adverb
      (US dialectal) Desperately.
      Roots
      sperosper- · Latin · hope
      Synonyms for desperate
      despairingadjhopelessadjdireadjforlornadjdespondentadjfranticadjdisconsolateadjfrustratedadjurgentadjwretchedadj
      Words related to desperate
      desperatelyadvdesperationndespairinglyadvhopelesslyadvdespairedvdespondentlyadvhopelessnessnheroicadjpatheticadjfranticallyadvhelplessadjpitifuladjnecessitousadjheartrendingadjpitiableadjdistraughtadjfranticlyadvfutileadjeageradjpiteousadjheartbrokenlyadvneedyadjpitiablenessnvainlyadvpitifulnessnanxiousadjdirelyadvdispiritedlyadvwoebegoneadjmiserableadj

      Synonyms & related words for desperate

      Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of desperate — including despairing, hopeless, dire, forlorn, despondent, frantic. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

      Words related to desperate

      Explore words related to desperate — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include desperately, desperation, despairingly, hopelessly, despaired, despondently, hopelessness, heroic. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

      Synonyms for desperate

      Common synonyms for desperate include despairing, hopeless, dire, forlorn, despondent, frantic, disconsolate, frustrated — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

      Where does desperate come from?

      The word desperate breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root sper-, from Latin spero (“hope”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.

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