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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 After two planes struck the World Trade Center in New York City, Americans were scared, confused, and desperately looking for healing. — Jon Root Outkick, FOXNews.com, 11 Sep. 2026 Looking ahead to the 2028 Democratic Presidential primary, the group is desperately hoping to avoid a repeat of the race to the left of 2020. — Jason Zengerle, New Yorker, 10 Sep. 2026 After weeks of living on adrenaline, my body is desperately asking for rest. — Chadner Navarro, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Sep. 2026 With only $400 in her account, Theron desperately needed to get a check cashed. — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 9 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
  • Those advantages can deliver real business value and can be extremely difficult for competitors to overcome.
    — George Couris, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Despite this high level of inconsistency, people were extremely confident their memories were correct.
    — Elizabeth A. Phelps, Fortune, 14 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
  • That was a big play for a team that badly wanted to send a message at the start of the third quarter.
    — Matt Barrows, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Bech Parker paid for an Uber to transport Trevor to a vet, who told her Trevor’s legs were broken and badly infected.
    — Sandra McDonald, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of badly
Adverb
  • The drinks program is both incredibly strong and incredibly specific at Ernesto's.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Freedom Without Compromise Compliance and security teams may instinctively default to no because the risks are incredibly high.
    — David Matalon, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of incredibly
Adverb
  • The Microtransat achievement represents more than a tiny boat completing a very long journey.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Turns out the two had a rather close bond, as Elia was very politically savvy compared to the naïve Rhaegar.
    — Rafael Motamayor, Vulture, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of very
Adverb
  • But Luján says his colleagues are eager to visit him in New Mexico, too, even though Republicans struggled to even field a candidate against him.
    — Nicholas Wu, semafor.com, 16 Sep. 2026
  • But on health insurance, too, the 2025 numbers don't reflect changes already underway this year.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of too
Adverb
  • The president has opposed such efforts to constrain AI and claims that doing so could cause China to eclipse America on the technology.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Nasmaranian’s host needs to be replaced every so often in eternity.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 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

Browse Nearby Words

desperate
desperately
desperateness
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Cite this Entry

“Desperately.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desperately. Accessed 16 Sep. 2026.

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