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
Judd Apatow's The 40-Year-Old Virgin stars Steve Carell as an aging electronics store worker desperate to finally score.
—
Allison Degrushe Published, EW.com, 23 Aug. 2025
The two pups were desperate for love and eager to approach Taylor for affection or even just simply some attention; the volunteer would quickly learn the alarming reason for this.
—Jack Beresford, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Aug. 2025
In desperate need of a victory Friday, the team turned to Nathan Eovaldi, who has been lights out this season.
—Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Aug. 2025
And now, those consultants see a Democratic Party base desperate for a fighter, someone who looks willing to stop at nothing to beat Republicans.
—Lance Christensen, Oc Register, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for desperate
Allison Degrushe Published, EW.com, 23 Aug. 2025
The two pups were desperate for love and eager to approach Taylor for affection or even just simply some attention; the volunteer would quickly learn the alarming reason for this.
—Jack Beresford, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Aug. 2025
In desperate need of a victory Friday, the team turned to Nathan Eovaldi, who has been lights out this season.
—Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Aug. 2025
And now, those consultants see a Democratic Party base desperate for a fighter, someone who looks willing to stop at nothing to beat Republicans.
—Lance Christensen, Oc Register, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for desperate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for desperate
Adjective
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Evans’ film sounds hopeless but isn’t and doesn’t abandon Danny, even if his hope is barely a flicker and never a flame.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
30 Aug. 2025
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Both artists have written their fair share of heartbreak songs, which has led to some significant overlap within their hopeless romantic fanbases.—
Larisha Paul,
Rolling Stone,
27 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Written by Samy Burch (2023’s May December), the script transplants the action from fin de siècle Vienna to modern-day New York, where Dafoe’s Ed Saxberger has spent 37 years working at the post office, living a quiet and anonymous but not unhappy life.—
Shannon L. Bowen,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Aug. 2025
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In many, my brother and I are comically unhappy-looking.—
Amanda Uhle
August 27,
Literary Hub,
27 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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This would be much less sad and much more fun.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
26 Aug. 2025
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Data breaches, such as the one that recently impacted Tea, are a sad fact of life.—
Justyn Newman,
PC Magazine,
26 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Later, when Erica and Frank, Frankie's parents, returned from school without him, Beau looked visibly disappointed and refused to leave the hallway.—
Saman Shafiq,
USA Today,
31 Aug. 2025
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Film fans in Venice — as well as Netflix‘s entire publicity team — breathed a disappointed sigh Thursday as George Clooney was a no-show on the Lido for the first press conference to promote his buzzy new movie, Jay Kelly.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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People are despairing over the Supreme Court and its deference to the president.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
4 July 2025
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Alcaraz swung slice serves past a despairing Lehečka’s forehand, while the Czech’s deliveries leapt up off the grass, contorting Alcaraz into uncomfortable return positions.—
James Hansen,
New York Times,
22 June 2025
Adjective
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The story is told by the cynical (and unreliable) film scout Striker, often in hallucinations and flashbacks.—
Lizz Schumer,
People.com,
31 Aug. 2025
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There’s a cynical take that says performers are just the last jobs left to automate.—
Seth Yudof,
Rolling Stone,
28 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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After the race, Hamilton sounded despondent and hinted at turmoil at his new team.—
Nelson Espinal,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Aug. 2025
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The messages come from despondent restaurant staff, livid at seeing abusive, toxic chefs who have made their lives hell elevated to hero status with the awarding of one of the highest accolades in the industry.—
Vivian Song,
CNN Money,
8 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Despite an extensive air and ground search for Gardner, he was not found and officials last week said they were heartbroken to shift the search from a rescue to a recovery operation.—
Kristi Miller,
Twin Cities,
30 Aug. 2025
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Adams leads the cast as Marianne, a heartbroken, struggling young painter who escapes to the countryside with her best friends — Lila (Nell Williams, A24’s Huntington) and Betty (Jessamine-Bliss Bell, Bodies) — for what should be a healing retreat.—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
28 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Desperate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desperate. Accessed 4 Sep. 2025.
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