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

The Sparks also desperately needed Brink to become the defensive backbone of the team. — Marisa Ingemi, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026

Knoxville said to IndieWire, searching desperately for the answer. — Brent Lang, IndieWire, 25 Sep. 2026

Books and stationary, burned for fuel in times of starvation and now subject to Israeli import restrictions, remain in desperately short supply. — Ghada Abdulfattah, Christian Science Monitor, 25 Sep. 2026

Kelce began by praising the Colts and their effort in the game, as Indianapolis desperately wanted to avoid an 0-2 start. — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 23 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

desperate + -ly entry 2

First Known Use

circa 1547, in the meaning defined at sense 1