as in despair
utter loss of hope
during the famine her desperation drove her to do things she wouldn't have normally considered
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Recent Examples of desperation
What started out of desperation quickly became a calling to build something lasting.
—
Jenn Rice, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2025
Vekić, hampered by an arm injury, was serving as poorly as Gauff, which only heightened the air of desperation in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
—Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2025
McBurrows read Harrell’s eyes the entire way, undercutting the desperation throw and making a diving interception.
—Hunter Bailey, Charlotte Observer, 30 Aug. 2025
Her investigation, driven by desperation and a desire for revenge, uncovers dark secrets that no one wanted revealed.
—Isabella Wandermurem, Time, 29 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for desperation
Jenn Rice, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2025
Vekić, hampered by an arm injury, was serving as poorly as Gauff, which only heightened the air of desperation in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
—Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2025
McBurrows read Harrell’s eyes the entire way, undercutting the desperation throw and making a diving interception.
—Hunter Bailey, Charlotte Observer, 30 Aug. 2025
Her investigation, driven by desperation and a desire for revenge, uncovers dark secrets that no one wanted revealed.
—Isabella Wandermurem, Time, 29 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for desperation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for desperation
Noun
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The feelings of postpartum depression — despair, guilt, shame and worthlessness — began creeping in.—
Alyssa Goldberg,
USA Today,
3 Sep. 2025
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Some of the movie’s best scenes highlight the deep despair of that life, emphasizing how Meursault is indeed a stranger (or outsider, as the title of the book was first translated to in English) in a land under occupation.—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
2 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
These movies commit to the dusty interior decoration and inherent sadness of their ghost stories, but have little feel for the profound interfamily dynamics therein.—
J. Kim Murphy,
Variety,
3 Sep. 2025
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So many of Lee’s memories of her mother are tinged with sadness and grief.—
Joan MacDonald,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Today that sense of hopelessness has been replaced by a sense of determination and a good deal more hope.—
Gabrielle Emanuel,
NPR,
6 Sep. 2025
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Bigelow’s explosively entertaining real-time thriller, told from multiple perspectives at various levels of government from situation room deputies to POTUS (Idris Elba) himself, does not mince on hopelessness.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
2 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Desperation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desperation. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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