desperately
adverb
des·per·ate·ly
ˈde-sp(ə-)rət-lē 
-spərt-
Synonyms
- achingly
- almighty
- archly
- awful
- awfully
- badly
- beastly
- blisteringly
- bone
- colossally
- corking
- cracking
- damn
- damned
- dang
- deadly
- eminently
- enormously
- especially
- ever
- exceedingly
- exceeding
- extra
- extremely
- fabulously
- fantastically
- far
- fiercely
- filthy
- frightfully
- full
- greatly
- heavily
- highly
- hugely
- immensely
- incredibly
- intensely
- jolly
- majorly
- mightily
- mighty
- monstrous [chiefly dialect]
- mortally
- most
- much
- particularly
- passing
- rattling
- real
- really
- right
- roaring
- roaringly
- seriously
- severely
- so
- sore
- sorely
- spanking
- specially
- stinking
- such
- super
- supremely
- surpassingly
- terribly
- that
- thumping
- too
- unco
- uncommonly
- vastly
- very
- vitally
- way
- whacking
- wicked
- wildly
Examples of desperately in a Sentence
all of a sudden everything went desperately wrong
Recent Examples on the Web
The symphony, the Girls' voices and singing from the crowd surged together as one, as scores of fans took to the aisles and crowded around the stage to hug and dance, ushers desperately buzzing around trying to enforce the no filming policy.
—
Journal Sentinel, 21 Apr. 2024
Instead of trying desperately to sidestep a potential political landmine, like the other sports leagues do, the NBA and its players have become vocal proponents of social change, even in the face of pushback from more conservative Americans.
—TIME, 19 Apr. 2024
Destitute after World War II and with hunger still a scourge in winter, Europe desperately needed food security.
—Raf Casert, Quartz, 18 Apr. 2024
She was described as desperately seeking approval from a clique of girls with social influence among her peers.
—USA TODAY, 18 Apr. 2024
Divide those numbers by three to give the help only to people who desperately need it.
—Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2024
Thousands of employers desperately needed the new arrivals.
—Paul Wiseman, Fortune, 12 Apr. 2024
Days old and desperately thin, Baby Malak didn’t even have a name when she was taken to the Emirati Hospital in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah.
—Erin McLaughlin, NBC News, 11 Apr. 2024
This all sounds very natural and proportionate to such desperately sad news.
—Vogue, 8 Apr. 2024
Journal Sentinel, 21 Apr. 2024
Instead of trying desperately to sidestep a potential political landmine, like the other sports leagues do, the NBA and its players have become vocal proponents of social change, even in the face of pushback from more conservative Americans.
—TIME, 19 Apr. 2024
Destitute after World War II and with hunger still a scourge in winter, Europe desperately needed food security.
—Raf Casert, Quartz, 18 Apr. 2024
She was described as desperately seeking approval from a clique of girls with social influence among her peers.
—USA TODAY, 18 Apr. 2024
Divide those numbers by three to give the help only to people who desperately need it.
—Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2024
Thousands of employers desperately needed the new arrivals.
—Paul Wiseman, Fortune, 12 Apr. 2024
Days old and desperately thin, Baby Malak didn’t even have a name when she was taken to the Emirati Hospital in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah.
—Erin McLaughlin, NBC News, 11 Apr. 2024
This all sounds very natural and proportionate to such desperately sad news.
—Vogue, 8 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'desperately.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near desperately
Cite this Entry
“Desperately.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/desperately. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.
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