Meanings
- datedsuperlativesuperlative form of desperate: most desperate
“[…]But these are desperate times.” “The desperatest,” I said.
2016, Aaron Starmer, Spontaneous, Dutton Books, page 1333 more examples
God neuer fayleth his people, whō he aydeth beyonde the compaſſe of mans reaſon, euen in their deſperateſt caſe.
1568, The .Holie. Bible. Conteynyng the Olde Testament and the Newe, London: […] Richarde Iugge, folio xliij, rectoFor Chabrias otherwiſe beeing very dull and ſlothfull of him ſelfe, when he came to fight, he was ſo hotte and corageous, that he would thruſt himſelfe into daunger, with the deſperateſt perſons:[…]
1579, Plutarke of Chæronea [i.e., Plutarch], “The Life of Phocion”, in Thomas North, transl., The Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romaines, […], London: […] Richard Field, →OCLC, page 799Ys this (think yowe) a verye iuſt cauſe of torture? ys this a reaſõ effectuall enoughe to bringe men to theire inquiſition? ſpeciallye ſo extreme, ſo rigorouſe, ſo ſeruile a maner of inquiſitiõ for free born mē to endure? dyd Catholiques in any aige practiſe this, euen againſt the deſperateſt and peruerſeſt heretiques?
1582, [Robert Persons], An Epistle of the Persecution of Catholickes in Englande, […] Douay in Artois [i.e., Rouen: Fr. Parsons’ Press], pages 84–85
Cite this entry
desperatest. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/desperatest
“desperatest.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/desperatest. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “desperatest,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/desperatest.
Source: desperatest on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.