desperate

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin dēspērātus, past participle of dēspērō (“to be without hope”).

adj

1. In dire need (of something); having a dire need or desire.
   I hadn't eaten in two days and was desperate for food.
   desperate to eat; desperate for attention
2. Being filled with, or in a state of, despair; hopeless.
   I was so desperate at one point, I even went to see a loan shark.
   But signalman Bridges was never to answer driver Gimbert's desperate question. A deafening, massive blast blew the wagon to shreds, the 44 high-explosive bombs exploding like simultaneous hits from the aircraft they should have been dropped from. The station was instantly reduced to bits of debris, and the line to a huge crater. January 12 2022, Benedict le Vay, “The heroes of Soham...”, in RAIL, number 948, page 43
3. Beyond hope, leaving little reason for hope; causing despair; extremely perilous.
   a desperate disease; desperate fortune
4. Involving or employing extreme measures, without regard to danger or safety; reckless due to hopelessness.
   “I knew very well that when the Peruvian Indian does anything wrong it is because he is forced to it by oppression and made desperate by abuse,” replied Lucia. 1904, Clorinda Matto de Turner, Birds Without a Nest: A Story of Indian Life and Priestly Oppression in Peru, page 218
   Humankind's global integration makes biological combat a weapon of choice for desperate killers, who are either suicidal or intend to infect others […] 2016, Hans-Martin Sass, Cultures in Bioethics, LIT Verlag Münster, page 239
   He dove into the rushing waters in a desperate effort to save her life.
5. Extremely bad; outrageous, shocking; intolerable.
   The letters which were of most importance were in half a dozen languages and in the desperate handwriting of the period. Eminent men in that age thought it - like Hamlet - a baseness to write fair. Often at the end of a page I have[…] 1898, Longman's Magazine, page 161
   She pictured having a boyfriend over and losing him when he saw her desperate taste in shampoo; however, the chances of that happening were slim. (Can we date this quote?), Stopping Inertia, Dorrance Publishing, page 131
   Whoever's writing the stuff on this has desperate handwriting, like they must be a doctor... 2022 September 2, Irish People Try American-Style Pancakes, circa 8:12
6. Intense; extremely intense.
   For Liverpool, it capped six days of desperate disappointment after missing out on the Premier League to Manchester City by a single point then losing to this experienced, street-smart Real team. 28 May 2022, Phil McCulty, “Liverpool 0-1 Real Madrid”, in BBC Sport

noun

1. A person in desperate circumstances or who is at the point of desperation, such as a down-and-outer, addict, etc.