desperately

adverb

des·​per·​ate·​ly ˈde-sp(ə-)rət-lē 

-spərt-

1

: in a way that involves despair, extreme measures, or rashness : in a desperate manner

struggling desperately

desperately crying out

2

: extremely, terribly

desperately tired

desperately important

Synonyms

• achingly
• almighty
• archly
• awful
• awfully
• badly
• beastly
• blisteringly
• bone
• colossally
• corking
• cracking
• damn
• damned
• dang
• deadly
• eminently
• enormously
• especially
• ever
• exceedingly
• exceeding
• extra
• extremely
• fabulously
• fantastically
• far
• fiercely
• filthy
• frightfully
• full
• greatly
• heavily
• highly
• hugely
• immensely
• incredibly
• intensely
• jolly
• majorly
• mightily
• mighty
• monstrous [chiefly dialect]
• mortally
• most
• much
• particularly
• passing
• rattling
• real
• really
• right
• roaring
• roaringly
• seriously
• severely
• so
• sore
• sorely
• spanking
• specially
• stinking
• such
• super
• supremely
• surpassingly
• terribly
• that
• thumping
• too
• unco
• uncommonly
• vastly
• very
• vitally
• way
• whacking
• wicked
• wildly

Examples of desperately in a Sentence

all of a sudden everything went desperately wrong

Recent Examples on the Web

The Royals, who scored one run in their final 18 innings against the Detroit Tigers last weekend, desperately needed to reignite their stagnant offense. —Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 7 June 2025

His first birdie came at the par-4 15th, and the 36-year-old desperately needed it for morale sake. —Savannah Leigh Richardson, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 June 2025

Settling the Trump lawsuit is widely seen as a prerequisite for regulators to finally clear Paramount’s $8-billion sale to Skydance Media, which controlling shareholder Shari Redstone has been desperately counting on to save her family’s fortunes. —Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 5 June 2025

Trying desperately to avoid the oncoming body, my horse reared on its hind legs. —Jim Carmichel, Outdoor Life, 5 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

desperate + -ly entry 2

First Known Use

circa 1547, in the meaning defined at sense 1