desperately

des·per·ate·ly
D2E1S1P3E1R1A1T1E1L1Y4
/ˈdɛs.p(ə.)ɹət.li/

adverb

In a desperate manner; without regard to danger or safety; recklessly.

“I could desperately do with some coffee right now.”

Similar
Less commonScrabble 17

Meanings

adverbdesperately (comparative more desperately, superlative most desperately)

comparative more desperately · superlative most desperately

  1. In a desperate manner; without regard to danger or safety; recklessly.

    I could desperately do with some coffee right now.

    3 more examples

    She desperately grabbed at the nearby branches as she heard the branch she was standing on start to snap.

    I just need you miserably Broken man come to me I just need you desperately Just want to change your mind

    1999, “Stately Lover”, performed by Lacuna Coil

    The patient, who lumbers painfully, has a question: She desperately wants a knee replacement, but doesn’t understand why three doctors have rejected her. Ms. Purdie translates doctorspeak.

    2007 August 21, Jan Hoffman, “Soldiering On, Home to Home, in a Squeezed Health System”, in The New York Times
  2. Extremely.

    The race for silver medal was desperately close, they needed a photo finish to separate the runners.

    1 more example

    They would be surprised to discover that we're all actually fighting for the same thing; that is, the sacredness of human love. The trouble is, they have almost every one of their facts totally and desperately wrong. Those who would lecture us on the "immorality" of our lives don't know the first thing about how we actually live them.

    1991 February 11, Jeffery R. Nickel, “Going To The Chapel”, in Gay Community News, volume 18, number 29, page 9

Synonyms & antonyms

adverbwith great urgency

Similar
Also see

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

Translations

Catalan desesperadament
  • desesperadamentin a desperate manner
Chinese Mandarin 拼命地, 死命地
  • 拼命地 (pīnmìng de)in a desperate manner
  • 死命地 (sǐmìng de)in a desperate manner
Czech zoufale
  • zoufalein a desperate manner
Danish desperat, fortvivlet
  • desperatin a desperate manner
  • fortvivletin a desperate manner
Dutch wanhopig
  • wanhopigin a desperate manner
Esperanto malespere
  • malesperein a desperate manner
Finnish epätoivoisesti
  • epätoivoisestiin a desperate manner
French désespérément
  • désespérémentin a desperate manner
German verzweifelt
  • verzweifeltin a desperate manner
Hebrew נואשות
  • נואשות (noashot)in a desperate manner
Hungarian kétségbeesetten
  • kétségbeesettenin a desperate manner
Japanese 必死になって
  • 必死になって (hisshi ni natte)in a desperate manner
Norwegian Bokmål desperat
  • desperatin a desperate manner
Polish rozpaczliwie, desperacko
  • rozpaczliwiein a desperate manner
  • desperackoin a desperate manner
Portuguese desesperadamente
  • desesperadamentein a desperate manner
Russian отча́янно
  • отча́янно (otčájanno)in a desperate manner
Spanish desesperadamente
  • desesperadamentein a desperate manner
Ukrainian розпа́чливо, відчайду́шно
  • розпа́чливо (rozpáčlyvo)in a desperate manner
  • відчайду́шно (vidčajdúšno)in a desperate manner
Cite this entry
APA

desperately. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/desperately

MLA

“desperately.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/desperately. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “desperately,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/desperately.

Source: desperately on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.