desperate measure
14
5.7
- noun
:
medida desesperada
- As the 1990s progressed, Mobutu resorted to increasingly desperate measures.
- call for desperate measures
And so I'm going to use this last ditch desperate measure to try to get her back.
- And so I'm going to use this last ditch desperate measure to try to get her back.
Examples
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More and more students are turning to desperate measures like taking on excessive debt to pay for college.
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Desperate circumstances call for desperate measures.
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Many people turn to desperate measures to make ends meet.
Blog text (22) -
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
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We have to resort to more desperate measures.
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You might be tempted to try some desperate measures in your job search.
Blog text (19) -
Desperate times called for desperate measures, and for many blacks, times were chronically desperate.
Blog text (16) -
And although desperate financial times have called for desperate measures, all have agreed that eliminating or reducing summer school is incomprehensible.
Blog text (12) -
People were taking increasingly desperate measures to repay debts, including absconding, the sale or leasing of long-term productive assets, and the early marriage of daughters.
Academic text (2004) -
In desperate times, many families may resort to desperate measures to put food on the table.
Synonyms
69
3.5
A final thing you try when all other options have failed
3
5.8
A final effort you make when nothing else works
1
6.4
A final desperate try to succeed when success seems unlikely
A decision made at the very last moment as a desperate effort
How Extreme
14
5.7
69
3.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'desperate' (extreme, last‑resort) modifies 'measure' (an action or step), so a B1 learner who knows both words can reasonably infer an extreme or last‑resort action. This adjective+noun pattern is common cross‑linguistically and follows normal English composition, making the phrase immediately comprehensible.
Etymology
Desperate measure comes from the simple meanings of the two words: a measure is a step you take to solve a problem, and desperate shows you have no hope left. That's why it creates the image of taking one last, extreme step when everything else has failed, and it means 'an extreme action taken when all other options have failed'.