desperately

adverb

des·​per·​ate·​ly ˈde-sp(ə-)rət-lē How to pronounce desperately (audio)
-spərt-
1
: in a way that involves despair, extreme measures, or rashness : in a desperate manner
struggling desperately
desperately crying out
2
: extremely, terribly
desperately tired
desperately important

Examples of desperately in a Sentence

all of a sudden everything went desperately wrong
Recent Examples on the Web Baseball’s absurd free agent market – one that desperately needed revamping in the last round of collective bargaining, only for the player’s union to errantly stand pat – is self correcting. Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 2 Mar. 2024 Many authorities on mental health and homelessness agree California desperately needs thousands more housing units and treatment beds to successfully attack the growing public health crisis. Tribune News Service, Orange County Register, 1 Mar. 2024 If regulators don't integrate AI now, we will be stuck with bureaucratic blockages impeding the renewable energy our world desperately needs. Hudson Hollister, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024 In early December, the Jayhawks desperately needed a bucket, trailing then-No. 4 UConn 52-47. Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 1 Mar. 2024 Four sources described another incident when Israel rejected a shipment of dates – a rich source of nutrients desperately needed by a hungry population. Tamara Qiblawi, CNN, 1 Mar. 2024 Those immigrants streaming across the southern border, illegally or desperately, haven’t managed to grasp the ladder at all. Robin Givhan, Washington Post, 27 Feb. 2024 Of course, Residente doesn’t need guests to demonstrate his own greatness, but Las Letras… desperately needed someone other than him to make that point clearer and more concise. Gary Suarez, Rolling Stone, 26 Feb. 2024 As remote work keeps employees out of the office and vacancy rates sit at all-time highs, commercial property owners are desperately trying to avoid default: by upgrading their spaces to attract new tenants, converting their space into apartments or simply offloading their assets. Dylan Sloan, Fortune, 25 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'desperately.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

desperate + -ly entry 2

First Known Use

circa 1547, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of desperately was circa 1547

Dictionary Entries Near desperately

Cite this Entry

“Desperately.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/desperately. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on desperately

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!