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WordNet-Online
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Adjective desperate has 6 senses
- despairing, desperate - arising from or marked by despair or loss of hope; "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"
Antonym: hopeful (indirect, via hopeless)
- desperate, do-or-die - desperately determined; "do-or-die revolutionaries"; "a do-or-die conflict"
Antonym: irresolute (indirect, via resolute)
- desperate - (of persons) dangerously reckless or violent as from urgency or despair; "a desperate criminal"; "taken hostage of desperate men"
Antonym: safe (indirect, via dangerous)
- desperate, heroic - showing extreme courage; especially of actions courageously undertaken in desperation as a last resort; "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"
Antonyms: cowardly, fearful (indirect, via brave)
- desperate - showing extreme urgency or intensity especially because of great need or desire; "felt a desperate urge to confess"; "a desperate need for recognition"
Antonym: beseeching (indirect, via imperative)
- desperate, dire - fraught with extreme danger; nearly hopeless; "a desperate illness"; "on all fronts the Allies were in a desperate situation due to lack of materiel"- G.C.Marshall; "a dire emergency"
Antonyms: noncritical, noncrucial (indirect, via critical)
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