desperate

Universal Words adjective 1 feeling or showing that you have little hope and are ready to do anything without worrying about danger to yourself or others: The prisoners grew increasingly desperate. * Stores are getting desperate after two years of poor sales. * Somewhere out there was a desperate man, cold, hungry, hunted. * I heard sounds of a desperate struggle, just above my room. 2 [usuallybeforenoun] (of an action) giving little hope of success; tried when everything else has failed: a desperate bid for freedom * She clung to the edge in a desperate attempt to save herself. * His increasing financial difficulties forced him to take desperate measures. * Doctors were fighting a desperate battle to save the little girl's life. 3 [notusuallybeforenoun] (for sth)