How to Use desperate in a Sentence

desperate

adjective
Definition of desperatenext
Synonyms for desperatenext
  • They made one last desperate attempt to fight their way out.
  • As the supply of food ran out, people became desperate.
  • Ji-soo is desperate to talk to In-han, but In-han just wants to get away.
    — Kayti Burt, TIME, 7 June 2024
  • The couple was desperate to find another place to live and decided to pay the deposit.
    — Jeff A. Chamer, Charlotte Observer, 25 July 2024
  • The preacher had a point: in his day, there was a spell to solve nearly every problem, and a whole army of cunning folk willing to sell said spells to desperate clients.
    — Tabitha Stanmore, TIME, 24 May 2024
  • Moving forward, Sporting will be desperate for results.
    — Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 26 May 2024
  • Eun-hyeok is fully ready to carry on with the plan to eliminate Sang-won at whatever cost, but Hyun-su is desperate to keep Yi-su safe.
    — Kayti Burt, TIME, 19 July 2024
  • Furiosa is a roaring death-metal fantasy set in a steampunk wasteland of desperate, vicious survivors, many of them grotesque mutants who suggest a circus troupe of killer clowns.
    — Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 24 May 2024
  • Her youngest daughter, desperate to see her mother again after so many years, recently arrived in the U.S. through the Biden parole program.
    — Syra Ortiz Blanes, Miami Herald, 6 June 2024
  • Versailles is clutched in a desperate battle between Louis’s mistresses, and the collateral damage is only growing.
    — Samuel Ashworth, Washington Post, 24 July 2024
  • The new release Twisters, however, is not a reboot but a pluralized update made in the Millennial spirit of a desperate, thoughtless hard sell.
    — Armond White, National Review, 24 July 2024
  • The last thing viewers see is the phone call, and a desperate Deon running back into the smoky home to find the rest of the kids.
    — Kelly Wynne, Peoplemag, 6 June 2023
  • Those desperate for the Virgin Mary’s help shuffle across the square on their knees.
    — Viet Thanh Nguyen, The New Yorker, 9 Sep. 2023
  • Poway missed a pair of desperate 3s in the final seconds.
    — Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Feb. 2024
  • Who among us hasn’t made such phone calls to our mothers in desperate times?
    — Erica Gonzales, ELLE, 4 Aug. 2023
  • The Parks Department said those large parks are in desperate need of cash.
    — John Tuohy, The Indianapolis Star, 3 Jan. 2024
  • In times like these, even good people can end up in desperate straits when things go bad.
    — Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 May 2023
  • Growing desperate, Tepper wanted the team to move up to the No. 1 spot in the draft and land a quarterback.
    — Steve Reed, The Enquirer, 9 Jan. 2024
  • On came the Buffaloes’ field-goal unit, an all-too-familiar sight for a team in desperate need of more points.
    — Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2023
  • There’s always a social code that can save you in a moment of desperate agony.
    — Caitlin Huston, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Dec. 2023
  • His forces also made gains at a time when Putin was desperate for wins, such as capturing the town of Soledar.
    — Peter Aitken, Fox News, 24 June 2023
  • And with Lozano’s aging team in desperate need of fresh blood, some of them could get another look soon.
    — Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 17 Dec. 2023
  • The Takeaway The search for the Titan grows more desperate by the hour, and as of Wednesday morning, the sub was believed to have less than 20 hours of oxygen left.
    — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 21 June 2023
  • The Bears are desperate for a win and are in prime position to finally snap that losing streak that spans to the 2022 season.
    — Scott Thompson, Fox News, 6 Oct. 2023
  • But the four members of the punk band are unable to focus on much right now besides their desperate desire to get some rest.
    — Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 17 Oct. 2023
  • For the single mother whose son is at war, protest, once unthinkable, now seems a last desperate hope to save him.
    — Natalia Abbakumova, Washington Post, 28 Dec. 2023
  • Meanwhile, the 49ers are now desperate to get back to winning and will have their next chance against the red-hot Jacksonville Jaguars on the road on No. 12 after their bye week.
    — Scott Thompson, Fox News, 30 Oct. 2023
  • In the 1980s, the Democratic Party was also in desperate need of reform.
    — David Masciotra, The New Republic, 1 Aug. 2023
  • Michele and Colleen almost got into a massive fight when Colleen said that Michele played the most desperate game this season.
    — Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 28 Feb. 2024
  • The loss was a stinging defeat for Ukraine, which up until the last minute was still rushing troops to the city in a desperate last-ditch attempt to hold the Russians off.
    — Kostiantyn Khudov, Washington Post, 2 Mar. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'desperate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: