Meaning & use
desperate
Feeling or showing a hopeless sense that a situation is so bad it requires extreme action.
See it in a sentence
In a desperate attempt to catch the train, she sprinted through the crowded station.
The stranded hikers sent a desperate call for help as the storm worsened.
A note on using this word
Desperate can describe a person's emotional state or the seriousness of a situation itself, as in 'a desperate shortage of supplies.'
Words with a similar meaning
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Words with an opposite meaning
Make it your own
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