desperate

Everyday

1. Feeling that you have little hope and will do anything to change the situation. tree →
2. Wanting or needing something very much: «desperate for a drink». tree →
3. Very serious or dangerous: «a desperate situation». tree →
4. Done as a last try with little chance of success: «a desperate attempt». tree →
5. (informal, UK) «Desperate for the loo» means needing the toilet very badly. tree →

In the lessons

In stories desperate characters take risks; a desperate search or desperate escape shows great danger. In everyday talk children say «I'm desperate for a drink» or «desperate to go» to mean they badly want something. Phrases: «desperate for», «desperate to», «desperate measures», «desperate times call for desperate measures», «in desperate need».

Examples

• The lost hikers were desperate for water. tree →
• I'm desperate to see the new film. tree →
• They made a desperate attempt to save the goal. tree →
• The family was in desperate need of food and shelter. tree →
• (informal) Stop the car, I'm desperate for the loo! tree →
• Desperate times call for desperate measures. tree →
• The kitten gave a desperate cry from the tree. tree →
• Her case, on the contrary, looked more desperate than ever. tree →

Note

Spelled desp-e-rate (not «desparate»). Adverb: «desperately»; noun: «desperation». In safety: if you feel desperate or very sad, tell a trusted adult or call a helpline.

In Jewish tradition

It means hopeless or in great pain, as in grief beyond cure.

Interpretation. Job complains that speeches of hopeless people are treated as wind, and tradition sees in Job a study of how to comfort the suffering.

Examples

• Do ye hold words to be an argument, but the speeches of one that is desperate to be wind? (Writings JOB.6.26, JPS 1917) tree →
• In the day of thy planting thou didst make it to grow, and in the morning thou didst make thy seed to blossom — a heap of boughs in the day of grief and of desperate pain. (Prophets ISA.17.11, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Spelled desp-e-rate (not «desparate»). Adverb: «desperately»; noun: «desperation». In safety: if you feel desperate or very sad, tell a trusted adult or call a helpline.