as in despair
utter loss of hope
during the famine her desperation drove her to do things she wouldn't have normally considered
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Recent Examples of desperation
The iconic image, taken in 1986 at Serra Pelada, one of the world's largest open-pit gold mines that operated from 1980 to 1992, immortalizes both the desperation of men driven by poverty and the staggering environmental cost of their pursuit.
—
Nicholas Creel, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 July 2025
There is not a desperation to sell, but there is a willingness to listen to offers for a club bought for £20million three years ago.
—Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 10 July 2025
But the timing of his latest conversion, however enduring, reveals the desperation of this moment in the conflict.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 8 July 2025
As Gaza’s money supply dwindled and civilians’ desperation mounted, cash brokers’ commissions — around 5% at the start of the war — skyrocketed.
—Wafaa Shurafa, Fortune, 11 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for desperation
Nicholas Creel, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 July 2025
There is not a desperation to sell, but there is a willingness to listen to offers for a club bought for £20million three years ago.
—Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 10 July 2025
But the timing of his latest conversion, however enduring, reveals the desperation of this moment in the conflict.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 8 July 2025
As Gaza’s money supply dwindled and civilians’ desperation mounted, cash brokers’ commissions — around 5% at the start of the war — skyrocketed.
—Wafaa Shurafa, Fortune, 11 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for desperation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for desperation
despair
Noun
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Joe’s despair reminded me of a conversation my colleague Charlie Warzel had with the writer and technology theorist L. M. Sacasas in 2022.—
Shirley Li,
The Atlantic,
18 July 2025
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What kind of despair would people feel upon the discovery that their source of joy, belonging, and meaning was a farce?—
Paul Bloom,
New Yorker,
14 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Desperation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desperation. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
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