desperate
desperate is defined in Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1913) with 4 senses. The full text of each entry is reproduced verbatim below.
Definitions
- 1.Beyond hope; causing despair; extremely perilous; irretrievable; past cure, or, at least, extremely dangerous; as, a desperate disease; desperate fortune.
- 2.Proceeding from, or suggested by, despair; without regard to danger or safety; reckless; furious; as, a desperate effort. "Desperate expedients." Macaulay.
- 3.Extreme, in a bad sense; outrageous; -- used to mark the extreme predominance of a bad quality. A desperate offendress against nature. Shak. The most desperate of reprobates. Macaulay.
- 4.One desperate or hopeless. [Obs.]
Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
Synonyms
Synonyms (Webster's 1913)
- despairing
- desponding
- forlorn
- frantic
- furious
- headlong
- hopeless
- irrecoverable
- irretrievable
- mad
- precipitate
- rash
Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
Related questions
Reverse-dictionary questions
Definition-first questions whose answer is desperate.
- What is beyond hope; causing despair; extremely perilous; irretrievable; past cure, or, at least, extremely dangerous; as, a desperate disease; desperate fortune called?
- What is proceeding from, or suggested by, despair; without regard to danger or safety; reckless; furious; as, a desperate effort. "Desperate expedients." Macaulay called?
- What is extreme, in a bad sense; outrageous; -- used to mark the extreme predominance of a bad quality. A desperate offendress against nature. Shak. The most desperate of reprobates. Macaulay called?
Sources
- Definitions: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
- Canonical URL: https://worddirectanswers.com/word/desperate
- Steward: Jason Burns