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

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

Examples of desperately in a Sentence

all of a sudden everything went desperately wrong

Recent Examples on the Web

Anisimova dialed in, desperately refusing to give Osaka any openings. —Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2025

Kids desperately want to be able to explore and play without adults micromanaging them, Skenazy says. —Charlotte Alter, Time, 5 Sep. 2025

In the parking lot outside a church in the Eastern Shore of Maryland, a mobile treatment unit quietly offers what too many people desperately need in the United States but too often cannot get – treatment and genuine support for substance use and mental health challenges. —Jessica Magidson, USA Today, 5 Sep. 2025

With Circana’s acquisition of Nielsen’s Marketing Mix Modeling business in August and NCSolutions in June, the company is positioning itself as the independent arbiter retail media desperately needs. —Kiri Masters, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

desperate + -ly entry 2

First Known Use

circa 1547, in the meaning defined at sense 1