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

• extremely
• terribly
• badly
• incredibly
• very
• too
• so
• really
• damn
• damned
• highly
• severely
• seriously
• intensely
• that
• greatly
• far
• wildly
• especially
• much
• heavily
• fiercely
• most

Examples of desperately in a Sentence

all of a sudden everything went desperately wrong

Recent Examples on the Web

New York desperately needs a win against deGrom, but Alonso knows that's never an easy task. —Jackson Roberts, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Sep. 2025

The Royals, who are desperately clinging to slim playoff odds, now have four-fifths of their Opening Day rotation on the IL after Lugo and Wacha joined Kris Bubic and Cole Ragans on the shelf. —Chad Jennings, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2025

Amir and Miri share their memories of holing up in a lightless, airless concrete room with two children under the age of 5, trying desperately to remain quiet. —Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 11 Sep. 2025

Americans of both political parties desperately want this violence to end. —Gabby Giffords, Time, 11 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

desperate + -ly entry 2

First Known Use

circa 1547, in the meaning defined at sense 1