desperate
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++LDOCE 5++des·per·ate /ˈdespərət/ ●●○ S3 W3 adjective 1 SERIOUS SITUATIONwilling to do anything to change a very bad situation, and not caring about danger 〔为了改变糟糕境遇而〕不惜冒险的，拼命的，绝望的 I had no money left and was desperate. 我身无分文，已经走投无路了。 Time was running out and we were getting desperate. 时间越来越少，我们越来越感到绝望。 the missing teenager’s desperate parents 失踪少年绝望的父母desperate with She was desperate with fear. 她因恐惧而感到绝望。2 WANTNEEDneeding or wanting something very much 非常需要…的，极其需要…的desperate for The team is desperate for a win. 这支球队急需一场胜利。 I was desperate for a cigarette. 我很想抽支烟。desperate to do something He was desperate to get a job. 他急于找到一份工作。3 SERIOUS SITUATIONa desperate situation is very bad or serious 〔局势〕危急的，严峻的 a desperate shortage of doctors 医生极度缺乏 We’re in desperate need of help. 我们亟待帮助。► see thesaurus at serious4 SERIOUS SITUATIONa desperate action is something that you only do because you are in a very bad situation 〔行动〕孤注一掷的desperate attempt/bid/effort a desperate attempt to escape 孤注一掷企图逃跑 We resorted to desperate measures. 我们采取了破釜沉舟的做法。desperate battle/struggle/fight a desperate struggle to rescue the men 不惜一切营救那些人的努力n COLLOCATIONS – Meaning 4: a desperate action is something that you only do because you are in a very bad situationnounsa desperate attemptBrian’s parents agreed to the treatment in a desperate attempt to save his life.a desperate bid (=attempt)He was standing in the middle of the road in a desperate bid to get help.a desperate effortA desperate effort was made to reach an agreement.a desperate struggle/battle/fightThe climbers faced a desperate struggle to reach safety.desperate measures (=extreme things you do to stop a problem or bad situation)They had to take desperate measures to stop the spread of the disease.a desperate searchThe female bear has left her young in a desperate search for food.
Examples from the Corpus
desperate• Another two weeks without emergency aid and I'd think things could become quite desperate.• We have members of our association who are desperate and worried sick as to how they are going to survive.• I was inspired by her optimism in the face of such desperate conditions.• Had he not been she might have telephoned him instead of Nick, when she had been desperate for company.• Pushing himself up, he staggered on, feeling angry and desperate inside.• The hospital is full of people in desperate need of medical attention.• TV stations broadcast an appeal from the teenager's desperate parents.• There was a desperate shortage of doctors.• Refugees on the border are living in appalling conditions with desperate shortages of food, medicine and water.• In desperate situations of life or death people come up with unheard-of wisdom.• The situation was desperate. The enemy were now only a mile away.• The situation is desperate -- there are just not enough beds in the hospital.• Musicians were so desperate to hear Michelangeli that they borrowed violin cases and sneaked in through the stage door.• Punters get desperate when the firm they are dealing with is about to go bust.getting desperate• Harvard's dealing director started getting desperate.• Paul says he was getting desperate.• We'd had a couple just stay on the lip and we were getting desperate.• They're getting desperate about the cabaret.• High Street shops are getting desperate after two years of poor sales.• I think they're getting desperate and Berlin seems the likeliest cause.• Miguel was getting desperate thoughts about it, convinced he had been hasty.• Television manufacturers are getting desperate to attract customers.desperate for• Desperate for ideas, Hollywood often recycles movie plots.desperate shortage• While toy sales here have hit a record high they face a desperate shortage of clean water.• Again the desperate shortage of materials and the home-made nature of the goods was evident.• Surely London employers were suffering from a desperate shortage of school-leavers?desperate attempt/bid/effort• The independence wars are not freak events but desperate efforts at cultural survival.• In a last desperate attempt to free himself of investigation, Nixon dismissed the special prosecutor Cox in October 1973.• Or as a desperate bid to get Aviemore to come up with the money?• Riven hung on to his mount's bridle grimly whilst it bucked and reared in a desperate effort to get away.• She made a desperate attempt to move.• He made two desperate attempts to recoup by staging the kind of garish spectacle that had once lured customers to the Falls.• Fights erupted outside supermarkets as shoppers battled for parking spaces in desperate efforts to stock up with canned goods.• Protestors had climbed lime trees in a desperate bid to stop them being destroyed.Origin desperate (1300-1400) Latin desperatus, past participle of desperare; → DESPAIR2des·per·ate adjective →n COLLOCATIONS1LDOCE OnlineChineseSyllable
change to anything very a do Corpus to and situation, bad willing
desperate
des‧per‧ate S3 W3 /ˈdespərət, ˈdespərɪt/
adjective1. willing to do anything to change a very bad situation, and not caring about danger:
I had no money left and was desperate.
Time was running out and we were getting desperate.
the missing teenager’s desperate parents
desperate with
She was desperate with fear.
2. needing or wanting something very much
desperate for
The team is desperate for a win.
I was desperate for a cigarette.
desperate to do something
He was desperate to get a job.
3. a desperate situation is very bad or serious:
a desperate shortage of doctors
We’re in desperate need of help.
4. a desperate action is something that you only do because you are in a very bad situation
desperate attempt/bid/effort
a desperate attempt to escape
We resorted to desperate measures.
desperate battle/struggle/fight
a desperate struggle to rescue the men
■ nouns
▪a desperate attempt Brian’s parents agreed to the treatment in a desperate attempt to save his life.
▪a desperate bid (=attempt) He was standing in the middle of the road in a desperate bid to get help.
▪a desperate effort A desperate effort was made to reach an agreement.
▪a desperate struggle/battle/fight The climbers faced a desperate struggle to reach safety.
▪desperate measures (=extreme things you do to stop a problem or bad situation) They had to take desperate measures to stop the spread of the disease.
▪a desperate search The female bear has left her young in a desperate search for food.
■ very bad
▪serious very bad – used about problems, accidents, illnesses, or crimes: Violent crime is a serious problem in and around the capital. | The boy was taken to hospital with serious head injuries. | Fortunately, the damage to the car was not serious.
▪severe very serious – used about problems, injuries, and illnesses: He suffered severe injuries in a car crash. | The problem became so severe that they had to bring water in from other countries. | severe epilepsy
▪grave used about a situation that is very serious and worrying, especially because it is dangerous or seems likely to get worse: A thick fog descended and I knew that we were in grave danger. | The situation is grave – war now seems inevitable.
▪acute used about an illness, problem, or situation that has become very serious or dangerous, and needs to be dealt with quickly: She was taken to the hospital suffering from acute appendicitis. | In San Diego, the shortage of skilled workers is acute.
▪desperate used about a situation or problem that is very serious or dangerous, especially because a lot of people need urgent help: The situation is desperate – people here need aid before the harsh winter sets in. | The hospital is full of people in desperate need of medical attention.
▪critical used about a situation that is very serious and dangerous and might get worse suddenly: In 1991, the food supply situation became critical. | Eight people were killed and four are still in a critical condition.
▪life-threatening used about a situation, illness, or condition in which someone could die: Her child had a potentially life-threatening illness. | The situation was not life-threatening, but it was very worrying.
▪be a matter of life and death spoken to be extremely serious – used when a situation is very urgent or important: For people living with HIV, getting the right treatment is literally a matter of life and death.
des‧per‧ate S3 W3 /ˈdespərət, ˈdespərɪt/
adjective1. willing to do anything to change a very bad situation, and not caring about danger: desperate with
2. needing or wanting something very much
desperate for
desperate to do something
3. a desperate situation is very bad or serious:
4. a desperate action is something that you only do because you are in a very bad situation
desperate attempt/bid/effort
desperate battle/struggle/fight
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