desperately

adverb

des·​per·​ate·​ly ˈde-sp(ə-)rət-lē 

-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

Synonyms of desperately

• extremely
• terribly
• badly
• incredibly
• very
• too
• so
• really
• damn
• damned
• highly
• severely
• seriously
• intensely
• that
• greatly
• far
• especially
• wildly
• fiercely
• heavily
• much

Examples of desperately in a Sentence

all of a sudden everything went desperately wrong

Recent Examples on the Web

Down by your ankles are bicycle pedals desperately maintaining the argument that this belongs somewhere in the ebike family, while six inches above the bars is a touchscreen doing the same job as the TFT on a modern touring motorcycle. — Kevin Fanady, New Atlas, 6 Nov. 2026

More likely, though, is that this is a company that desperately needs to launch about 90 more of its massive BlueBird direct-to-cell satellites. — Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 6 Nov. 2026

In the 88th minute, midseason addition Barbara Bonansea nearly delivered the moment San Diego desperately needed. — Fernando Ramirez, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Nov. 2026

The protagonist, Michael, whose Chinese identity has been eroded by successive generations, is desperately curious about Kun’s dad. — Marta Balaga, Variety, 5 Nov. 2026

Word History

Etymology

desperate + -ly entry 2

First Known Use

circa 1547, in the meaning defined at sense 1