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desperately

desperately

366 3.6
In a very urgent way because you feel a strong need or fear
  • adverb
  • /ˈdɛspərɪtli/
translation icon : desesperadamente
  • You have something I need desperately.
  • desperately need
  • desperately want
  • desperately trying

We are entering bad times, and we desperately need strong men.

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Examples

  • We are entering bad times, and we desperately need strong men.

  • After weeks of searching, he was desperately hoping to find a job before the bills were due.

  • And in this place we can try desperately to please everyone.

  • People who are looking for love, who desperately want to find love.

  • My mother desperately wanted to sign that list.

  • I, I desperately hope you got that story wrong.

  • And you desperately want your daughter back.

  • Our food supplies are now desperately low.

  • The middle class was struggling desperately for its share of the good life.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Alex nearly doubled over, his sides hurting as he desperately tried to catch his breath.

    Fiction book (1990)

Synonyms

frantically
vsdesperately
59 4.4

In a hurried and worried way because of fear

is urgent and emotional but not necessarily hurried or chaotic
urgently
vsdesperately
51 2.1

In a way that needs attention right away

is urgent and emotional, adding strong feeling beyond mere immediacy
for dear life
vsdesperately
  • Informal
16 5.9

Very quickly because you are afraid of danger

is urgent and emotional but can apply beyond extreme danger
4 7.8

In a very urgent and determined way as if everything depended on it

is urgent and emotional but can describe less extreme situations
pleadingly
vsdesperately
1 4.3

In a soft, urgent way that asks for something

is urgent and emotional but also covers urgent feeling beyond pleading
direly
vsdesperately
1 7.5

In a very serious and urgent way

is urgent and emotional but often less focused on sheer severity
beseechingly
vsdesperately
  • Formal
1 7.8

In a begging way that shows strong need or hope

is urgent and emotional but not limited to asking for help
pressingly
vsdesperately
1 5.6

In a way that needs attention right away

is urgent and emotional but usually adds strong feeling rather than insistence

They try very hard and fast, as if they would lose everything

is urgent and emotional but not always about very large stakes
entreatingly
vsdesperately
  • Literature
7.4

To ask for something in a pleading way

is urgent and emotional but not always about making requests

Antonyms

110 1.0

In a calm, steady way without showing anger or nervousness

75 1.9

In a calm way without getting angry while waiting

How Urgent

frantically
59 4.4
desperately
366 3.6
urgently
51 2.1
promptly
98 2.1
calmly
110 1.0

Surface Forms

desperately positive

Morphology

desperately = desperate (transparent) = desperate + ly

The adverb is formed by adding the productive adverbial suffix '-ly' to the adjective 'desperate', so the manner meaning is directly derived.

Etymology

Desperately comes from despair, which comes from the parts de- ('without') and sperare ('to hope'). So to do something desperately is to act as if you are 'without hope', with great urgency or strong need.