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

Relevance

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
  • You’re born in a place where women are treated terribly, or journalists are imprisoned, and those people need some luck.
    — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2026
  • But things went terribly wrong while giving birth to her daughter.
    — Michael Collins, USA Today, 30 Aug. 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 artists at The Library Show paid The Garage’s proposed no Milwaukee rap very little mind.
    — Caden Perry, jsonline.com, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Films can change the world, or at the very least, the people who walk it.
    — Marshall Shaffer, IndieWire, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of very
Adverb
  • Aside from happy love affairs that usually turn into friendships, there might seem from the outside to be too little family in my life.
    — Gloria Steinem, Vogue, 4 Sep. 2026
  • The slouchy, mockneck sweater is back again, this time with plenty of cropped and cardigan options, too.
    — Jordan Julian, InStyle, 3 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

Browse Nearby Words

desperate
desperately
desperateness
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Desperately.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desperately. Accessed 10 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of loath

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Vol. 2 Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All