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desperatefeeling or showing extreme urgency or intensity

Part of speech: ADJECTIVE

Definition: feeling or showing extreme urgency or intensity

Pronunciation (IPA): /ˈdespərət/

Example Sentences

  • I'm desperate for coffee - I haven't slept in 30 hours!
  • The students made desperate attempts to finish their assignments before the deadline.
  • My mom was so desperate to wake me up that she played K-pop at full volume.

desperate

ADJECTIVE

[/ˈdespərət/]

feeling or showing extreme urgency or intensity

He wasn't careless — he was desperate, and desperation makes people do things they never imagined.
💡 Concept

He wasn't careless — he was desperate, and desperation makes people do things they never imagined.

At the DESK, PER night, he ATE nothing — desperate to finish before the deadline.
🧠 Mnemonic

At the DESK, PER night, he ATE nothing — desperate to finish before the deadline.

Desperate enough to separate — just to generate something new.
🎵 Rhyme

Desperate enough to separate — just to generate something new.

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🎤Pronunciation

🇺🇸 US/ˈdespərət/
🇬🇧 UK/ˈdespərət/

🌳Etymology

Prefixde--
Rootsper
Suffix--ate

Origin

From Latin desperatus, the past participle of desperare, meaning 'to lose all hope.' The word combines de- (completely) and sperare (to hope), originally describing a state of utter hopelessness or a situation from which there is no escape.

Breakdown

de- (completely, utterly) + sperare (to hope) → desperatus (hopeless, despairing). The suffix -ate forms the English adjective, denoting a condition of complete loss of hope.

🎵Rhyme

separatemoderatecorporate
separate
moderate
corporate

🔗Collocations

desperate situation
desperate measures
desperate attempt
desperate need
desperately want
desperate times

📝Examples

😄 Fun example

I'm desperate for coffee - I haven't slept in 30 hours!

The students made desperate attempts to finish their assignments before the deadline.

😄 Fun example

My mom was so desperate to wake me up that she played K-pop at full volume.

The company is in desperate need of new investors.

📚Related Words

Synonyms

hopelessurgentfranticcriticaldire

Antonyms

hopefulcalmconfident

Related

desperationdesperatelydespairurgency

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