as in hopeless
feeling or showing no hope
desperate cancer patients who are vulnerable to the claims of unscrupulous quacks
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of desperate
Those who become addicted sometimes have a desperate need to hold on, even as the talents that brought renown begin to fade and eventually disappear.
—
Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune, 5 Aug. 2025
The severity of the shortages has prompted desperate public appeals, even from activists loyal to the Kremlin.
—Katya Soldak, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2025
But many of the trucks that do get in are looted, either by desperate civilians or organized gangs.
—Tim Lister, CNN Money, 4 Aug. 2025
In late May and early June 2025, a spike in overdoses took dozens of lives in New Haven County, sparking a desperate attempt to stem a fatal mix of drugs.
—Katy Golvala, Hartford Courant, 4 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for desperate
Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune, 5 Aug. 2025
The severity of the shortages has prompted desperate public appeals, even from activists loyal to the Kremlin.
—Katya Soldak, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2025
But many of the trucks that do get in are looted, either by desperate civilians or organized gangs.
—Tim Lister, CNN Money, 4 Aug. 2025
In late May and early June 2025, a spike in overdoses took dozens of lives in New Haven County, sparking a desperate attempt to stem a fatal mix of drugs.
—Katy Golvala, Hartford Courant, 4 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for desperate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for desperate
Adjective
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Measures included depression using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale (CES-D), blood tests for 76 inflammatory biomarkers, and symptoms broken down into cognitive-affective (e.g., feeling hopeless), somatic (e.g., poor sleep, fatigue), and anhedonia (loss of pleasure) clusters.—
Paul McClure
August 09,
New Atlas,
9 Aug. 2025
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Amid the callous acts and hopeless rage of these kids—who are resourceful enough to orchestrate a high-speed heist but too disaffected for much else—a supernatural eeriness surfaces through word of mysterious lights in the sky and missing citizens.—
Christian Zilko,
IndieWire,
7 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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As with almost any change, some residents were unhappy, mostly about being told to slow down.—
Phil Diehl,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 Aug. 2025
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President Donald Trump was unhappy with July’s U.S. jobs report, which showed hiring slowing (with 73,000 jobs added, compared to 100,000 predicted) and revised past months’ numbers.—
Emma Hinchliffe,
Fortune,
4 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Charlotte Lawrence loves a good, gut-wrenching, sad song.—
Leah Lu,
Rolling Stone,
7 Aug. 2025
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Unfortunately, between the time of the taping and the show release, sad news came to Mike Kimmel’s team.—
Bill Kearney,
Sun Sentinel,
6 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Part of me is still disappointed that the excellent NES version of the original Gradius, otherwise known as the first video game to ever feature the iconic Konami Code, didn’t make the cut, but hopefully that just means more collections are on the way.—
David Jagneaux,
Forbes.com,
6 Aug. 2025
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According to Juvenile, the call was made by upper management and left him — and fans — confused and disappointed.—
Preezy Brown,
VIBE.com,
6 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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People are despairing over the Supreme Court and its deference to the president.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
4 July 2025
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Alcaraz swung slice serves past a despairing Lehečka’s forehand, while the Czech’s deliveries leapt up off the grass, contorting Alcaraz into uncomfortable return positions.—
James Hansen,
New York Times,
22 June 2025
Adjective
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That was a shameful, cynical act of political cowardice and corruption.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
12 Aug. 2025
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Home games were a communally happy experience instead of one in which 40,000 people were conditioned to expect the most cynical outcome possible.—
Jerry Beach,
Forbes.com,
12 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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About two centuries later, Henry Beauchamp (Jeremy Irvine, touchingly vulnerable) writes increasingly despondent letters from the Belgian front in World War I. One of those missives crosses the desk of Julia Moriston (Hermione Corfield), a brainy clerk at the London censorship office.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Aug. 2025
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At what was supposed to be his final asylum hearing on March 20, Rodríguez Parra’s lawyer sounded despondent.—
Melissa Sanchez,
ProPublica,
18 July 2025
Adjective
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While the feline escaped unscathed, Lex admitted the incident left her heartbroken.—
Lucy Notarantonio,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Aug. 2025
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That’s not to say Moore wasn’t heartbroken or incredibly stressed out during the wildfires.—
Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal,
Parents,
14 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Desperate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desperate. Accessed 22 Aug. 2025.
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