Desperate : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: Desperate	by the DICT Development Group
3 results for Desperate
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
desperate adj arising from or marked by despair or loss of hope; "a despairing view of the world situation"; "the last despairing plea of the condemned criminal"; "a desperate cry for help"; "helpless and desperate--as if at the end of his tether"; "her desperate screams" Synonym(s): despairing, desperate desperately determined; "do-or-die revolutionaries"; "a do- or-die conflict" Synonym(s): desperate, do-or-die(a) (of persons) dangerously reckless or violent as from urgency or despair; "a desperate criminal"; "taken hostage of desperate men" showing extreme courage; especially of actions courageously undertaken in desperation as a last resort; "made a last desperate attempt to reach the climber"; "the desperate gallantry of our naval task forces marked the turning point in the Pacific war"- G.C.Marshall; "they took heroic measures to save his life" Synonym(s): desperate, heroic showing extreme urgency or intensity especially because of great need or desire; "felt a desperate urge to confess"; "a desperate need for recognition" fraught with extreme danger; nearly hopeless; "a desperate illness"; "on all fronts the Allies were in a desperate situation due to lack of materiel"- G.C.Marshall; "a dire emergency" Synonym(s): desperate, dire n a person who is frightened and in need of help; "they prey on the hopes of the desperate"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Desperate \Des"perate\, a. [L. desperatus, p. p. of desperare. See {Despair}, and cf. {Desperado}.] 1. Without hope; given to despair; hopeless. [Obs.] I am desperate* of obtaining her. --Shak. 2. Beyond hope; causing despair; extremely perilous; irretrievable; past cure, or, at least, extremely dangerous; as, a desperate disease; desperate fortune. 3. Proceeding from, or suggested by, despair; without regard to danger or safety; reckless; furious; as, a desperate effort. [bd]Desperate expedients.[b8] --Macaulay. 4. 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. Syn: Hopeless; despairing; desponding; rash; headlong; precipitate; irretrievable; irrecoverable; forlorn; mad; furious; frantic.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Desperate \Des"perate\, n. One desperate* or hopeless. [Obs.]