as in hopeless
feeling or showing no hope
desperate cancer patients who are vulnerable to the claims of unscrupulous quacks
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Recent Examples of desperate
Clearly, the games will never end because people will always be desperate to win money.
—
EW.com, 27 June 2025
On the streets of L.A., Blanchett’s character was dressed in the Recruiter’s familiar suit and packed an equally mean wind-up slap, this time across the face of a desperate American who no doubt is being recruited for the deadly Games.
—Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 27 June 2025
Sonny’s last shot for FI success comes courtesy of dapper ex-teammate Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem), the desperate owner of a basement-dwelling team destined to be sold off.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 25 June 2025
Someone who's absolutely desperate, just seeing that there's no other choice.
—Sasha Pezenik, ABC News, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for desperate
EW.com, 27 June 2025
On the streets of L.A., Blanchett’s character was dressed in the Recruiter’s familiar suit and packed an equally mean wind-up slap, this time across the face of a desperate American who no doubt is being recruited for the deadly Games.
—Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 27 June 2025
Sonny’s last shot for FI success comes courtesy of dapper ex-teammate Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem), the desperate owner of a basement-dwelling team destined to be sold off.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 25 June 2025
Someone who's absolutely desperate, just seeing that there's no other choice.
—Sasha Pezenik, ABC News, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for desperate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for desperate
Adjective
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In a time when the suffering and seemingly hopeless prospects of America’s poor are known to all who have eyes to see, the only fig leaf available to hide the obscenity of this bill is the old partisan charge of waste, fraud and abuse.—
Clarence Page,
Chicago Tribune,
6 July 2025
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Valentine, Texas, stamps 10,000+ love letters each year For more than three decades, the small-town Valentine Post Office — also known as the Love Station — has processed thousands of love letters from hopeless romantics around the world.—
Brandi D. Addison,
Austin American Statesman,
2 July 2025
Adjective
-
This gives the creditor an additional target to pursue and make very unhappy which can indirectly put pressure on the debtor to pay the judgment.—
Jay Adkisson,
Forbes.com,
2 July 2025
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Circulation increased and the publication won two Pulitzer Prizes, but the owner, conservative Harry Guggenheim, was unhappy with the paper’s shift to the left, and he and Moyers were divided over the Vietnam War and the 1968 presidential election.—
Carmel Dagan,
Variety,
26 June 2025
Adjective
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Too much alcohol and your dreamy dessert turns into a sad, semi-frozen slush.—
Emily Price,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2025
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Her eyes are big and sad, and her index finger touches the tip of the nightstick hanging from the policeman’s belt.—
Daniel Alarcón,
New Yorker,
30 June 2025
Adjective
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The news came just months after trading away star forward Luka Doncic last season, leaving many fans feeling disappointed in the team and its front office.—
Sean Neumann,
People.com,
25 June 2025
-
Paychex — Shares slid more than 9% after the payroll services company's latest quarterly results disappointed investors.—
Fred Imbert,
CNBC,
25 June 2025
Adjective
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The arc of the subject’s life is evoked through steadily darkening, tightening mood, with certain scenes and setups replicated to variously despairing effect, from tacitly shifting points of view.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
28 May 2025
-
That same investigation may find the veteran was despairing, had just gone through a divorce or something along those lines.—
Greg Wehner,
FOXNews.com,
24 May 2025
Adjective
-
The cynical view would be that Trump is looking for a reason to have federal troops join ICE in rounding up undocumented immigrants that Mamdani tries to protect, and to arrest local officials who get in their way.—
Anna Commander,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 July 2025
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Created by cartoonist Jim Davis, the Garfield comic strip debuted in June 1978 and follows the cynical and lazy orange cat and his interactions with his owner, Jon Arbuckle, and fellow pet Odie, the lovable dog.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
8 July 2025
Adjective
-
In May 2023, Kesha released Gag Order, a dark, despondent exploration of her trauma, with minimalist production from Rick Rubin and the image of the pop star with a blast bag over her head as its album artwork.—
Jason Lipshutz,
Billboard,
3 July 2025
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Authorities say on June 17, Faye fired his handgun inside the Morgan Hill home of an ex-girlfriend, while reportedly despondent about his misdemeanor child abuse arrest two days earlier in Monterey.—
Robert Salonga,
Mercury News,
27 June 2025
Adjective
-
And before long, his pig is stolen, leaving him heartbroken.—
Travis Bean,
Forbes.com,
27 June 2025
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Once the game is over, pink soldiers approach Yong-sik to shoot him and ensure that he’s eliminated, despite Geum-ja’s heartbroken pleas.—
Jennifer Zhan,
Vulture,
27 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Desperate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desperate. Accessed 11 Jul. 2025.
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