desperately

adverb

ˈde-sp(ə-)rət-lē How to pronounce desperately (audio)
Definition of desperatelynext
as in extremely
to a great degree all of a sudden everything went desperately wrong

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of desperately Much like our understanding of plants, the value of citizen scientists is undervalued and so desperately needed. — New Atlas, 4 Sep. 2026 In the four months before killing her three children and attempting to kill herself, Lindsay Clancy desperately sought help for her deteriorating mental condition. — Tara Bannow, STAT, 4 Sep. 2026 Suddenly, the aircraft ascended and started rolling to the right as the pilots desperately worked to realign the aircraft. — Natalia Senanayake, PEOPLE, 4 Sep. 2026 Michigan State is desperately hoping Fitzgerald, its third coach since 2023, can fix a program that has won five or fewer games in each of the past four seasons. — ABC News, 2 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for desperately
Recent Examples of Synonyms for desperately
  1. extremely
  2. terribly
  3. badly
  4. incredibly
  5. very
  6. too
  7. so
  8. really
Adverb
  • Christner studies microorganisms that are able to survive in extremely low temperatures.
    — Jonathan Jones, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Deposition systems add extremely thin layers of material onto a silicon wafer.
    — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of extremely
Adverb
  • Though Lock and Fleury aren’t Darnold and Kubiak, Wednesday night’s game demonstrated that Seattle is not interested in making terribly many overarching changes from last year’s general offensive approach.
    — Andrew Destin, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • The other might be the terribly limited prospects of people like Miguelito living in Chivilcoy, a town outside Buenos Aires, where the two latter parts of the film is set.
    — Roberto Prieto, Variety, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of terribly
Adverb
  • Even the odd chance to counter-attack went badly wrong — summed up by the sight of Ouattara almost knocking over team-mate Mikkel Damsgaard with a wayward pass.
    — Stuart James, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • At the time, the Mets were playing particularly badly and making a lot of mistakes on the basepaths, so Ewing’s two failed attempts were somewhat magnified.
    — Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of badly
Adverb
  • But incredibly, that failure actually paved the way for his return to the competition last season, with Benfica hiring him just weeks later.
    — Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • This part — two brothers who respect each others’ artistic gifts (most of the time) but cannot stand each other personally — is not universal but incredibly specific.
    — Nate Jones, Vulture, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of incredibly
Adverb
  • The real-life aspect of the things that inspired me to write this book were so much grimmer than the book itself and not actually very funny.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2026
  • At the very least, a loss would have quelled any desire to inflict further consequences on Michigan.
    — Austin Meek, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of very
Adverb
  • Rafaela recaps many shows for us, particularly the Below Deck universe, and writes about movies too.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 11 Sep. 2026
  • There were several other plays with noteworthy designs, too, albeit with varying results.
    — Andrew Destin, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of too
Adverb
  • Not since early Vanderpump Rules have we been so blessed by morally bankrupt individuals being so willing to televise their cheating (key word being willing).
    — Tom Smyth, Vulture, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Indeed, scientists believe that, regardless of whether 2026 breaks the record for hottest year ever, 2027 almost certainly will do so because of the El Niño conditions.
    — Mary Randolph, Scientific American, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of so
Adverb
  • The player who really caught the eye, though, was Ao Tanaka, whose superb performance helped Leeds control midfield.
    — Stuart James, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • And although showing the documentary in New York was exciting, what Valencia and Zegarra really wanted was to release it in Peru.
    — Daniel Alarcón, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of really

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Cite this Entry

“Desperately.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desperately. Accessed 13 Sep. 2026.

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