Main entry: desperate
Definition: a person who is frightened and in need of help
Usage: they prey on the hopes of the desperate
Definition: showing extreme courage; especially of actions courageously undertaken in desperation as a last resort
Usage: 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
Definition: fraught with extreme danger; nearly hopeless
Usage: a desperate illness; on all fronts the Allies were in a desperate situation due to lack of materiel- G.C.Marshall; a dire emergency
Main entry: desperate
Definition: showing extreme urgency or intensity especially because of great need or desire
Usage: felt a desperate urge to confess; a desperate need for recognition
Main entry: despairing, desperate
Definition: arising from or marked by despair or loss of hope
Usage: 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
Main entry: do-or-die, desperate
Definition: desperately determined
Usage: do-or-die revolutionaries; a do-or-die conflict
Main entry: desperate
Definition: (of persons) dangerously reckless or violent as from urgency or despair
Usage: a desperate criminal; taken hostage of desperate men