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desperately

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adverb des·per·ate·ly \ˈdes-p(ə-)rət-lē, -pərt-\

Definition of desperately

  1. 1 :  in a way that involves despair, extreme measures, or rashness :  in a desperate manner struggling desperately desperately crying out

  2. 2 :  extremely, terribly desperately tired desperately important

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Examples of desperately in a Sentence

  1. all of a sudden everything went desperately wrong

Origin and Etymology of desperately

see desperate

desperately Synonyms

Synonyms
achingly, almighty, archly, awful, awfully, badly, beastly, blisteringly, bone, colossally, corking, cracking, damn, damned, dang, deadly, very, eminently, enormously, especially, ever, exceedingly (also exceeding), extra, extremely, fabulously, fantastically, far, fiercely, filthy, frightfully, full, greatly, heavily, highly, hugely, immensely, incredibly, intensely, jolly, majorly, mightily, mighty, monstrous [chiefly dialect], mortally, most, much, particularly, passing, rattling, real, really, right, roaring, roaringly, seriously, severely, so, sore, sorely, spanking, specially, stinking, such, super, supremely, surpassingly, terribly, that, thumping, too, unco, uncommonly, vastly, vitally, way, whacking, wicked, wildly
Antonyms
little, negligibly, nominally, slightly, somewhat
Related Words
absolutely, altogether, completely, downright, entirely, flat-out, fully, positively, purely, radically, thoroughly, totally, utterly, wholly; deeply, profoundly; exceptionally, notably, remarkably; considerably, extensively, significantly, substantially; appreciably, discernibly, markedly, noticeably, obviously, palpably, plainly, visibly; abundantly, plentifully; astronomically, grandly, monstrously, monumentally; excessively, obscenely, overmuch; amazingly, astonishingly, staggeringly
Near Antonyms
meagerly, scantily; barely, hardly, just, marginally, minimally, scarcely

DESPERATELY Defined for Kids

desperately

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adverb des·per·ate·ly \ˈde-spə-rət-lē, -sprət-lē\

Definition of desperately for Students

  1. 1 :  in a way showing great worry and weakening hope They desperately called for help.

  2. 2 :  in such a way as to leave little hope He became desperately ill.

  3. 3 :  with great intensity … I wished desperately that I knew where my mama was … — Kate DiCamillo, Because of Winn-Dixie

Learn More about desperately

  1. Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for desperately Spanish Central: Translation of desperately Nglish: Translation of desperately for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of desperately for Arabic speakers

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to fight against or to call in question

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desperately

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Examples: desperately in a Sentence