Definition of "desperate" in English

adjective

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.

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.

   • He dove into the rushing waters in a desperate effort to save her life.

5. Extremely bad; outrageous, shocking; intolerable.

   • Whoever's writing the stuff on this has desperate handwriting, like they must be a doctor...

6. Intense; extremely intense.

adverb

1. (US dialectal) Desperately.

noun

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