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 Cowboys enter Week 2 against a division team that is also 0-1, and desperately needs to avoid starting the year 0-2. — Mac Engel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 Sep. 2026

Nike desperately needs a fresh perspective on how to fix its brand, but near-term fundamentals remain weak. — Jeff Marks, CNBC, 17 Sep. 2026

Some desperately need the help, but get put on a waitlist or denied aid. — Annie Lowrey, The Atlantic, 17 Sep. 2026

Tuesday’s scene was a mixture of confusion and chaos with first responders fanned out across two catastrophes and television news teams desperately trying to find out whether their journalists were safe. — Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

desperate + -ly entry 2

First Known Use

circa 1547, in the meaning defined at sense 1