How to Use desperate in a Sentence

desperate

adjective
  • He made a desperate bid to save his job.
  • We could hear their desperate cries for help.
  • The collapse of her business had made her desperate.
  • They made one last desperate attempt to fight their way out.
  • As the supply of food ran out, people became desperate.
  • Ji-soo is desperate to talk to In-han, but In-han just wants to get away.
    — Kayti Burt, TIME, 7 June 2024
  • Racing is in desperate need of stars and the chase for the Triple Crown is one way of getting them.
    — John Cherwa, Los Angeles Times, 6 June 2025
  • They were supposed to be near death and in desperate need of end-of-life care to ease their pain.
    — Kim Christensen, Los Angeles Times, 24 Feb. 2022
  • With nothing to lose, the pair seizes the chance to flee the city in a desperate attempt to start over elsewhere.
    — Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Sep. 2022
  • Durant wants out of Brooklyn, wants to join the Suns and the Suns want him but aren’t desperate for him.
    — Jeremy Cluff, The Arizona Republic, 17 Aug. 2022
  • Crises bring out the good in people, the desire to help those more desperate.
    — Joel Achenbach, Anchorage Daily News, 12 Mar. 2023
  • This is best saved for those who are desperate for the perfect sleep.
    — WIRED, 27 Nov. 2022
  • The last thing viewers see is the phone call, and a desperate Deon running back into the smoky home to find the rest of the kids.
    — Kelly Wynne, Peoplemag, 6 June 2023
  • The pair tried to right their sled in a desperate attempt to save their careers.
    — The Salt Lake Tribune, 5 Feb. 2022
  • Russia is on the verge of collapse and Trump/Vance are desperate to save them.
    — Dan Perry, Newsweek, 28 Feb. 2025
  • The trio used palm tree branches to make their desperate plea.
    — Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 11 Apr. 2024
  • The rule of law, in other words, was strong enough to stop a single desperate man.
    — Daniel Alarcón, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2022
  • Grand Forks is not a moribund city in desperate need of work.
    — New York Times, 17 July 2022
  • Those desperate for the Virgin Mary’s help shuffle across the square on their knees.
    — Viet Thanh Nguyen, The New Yorker, 9 Sep. 2023
  • Poway missed a pair of desperate 3s in the final seconds.
    — Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Feb. 2024
  • Who among us hasn’t made such phone calls to our mothers in desperate times?
    — Erica Gonzales, ELLE, 4 Aug. 2023
  • People are desperate to get far away from crowds to be safe from the virus outbreak.
    — Jack Kelly, Forbes, 18 Mar. 2022
  • The Parks Department said those large parks are in desperate need of cash.
    — John Tuohy, The Indianapolis Star, 3 Jan. 2024
  • This is a desperate attempt to do an end run around the French people.
    — The Editors, National Review, 4 Apr. 2025
  • Crucible and Gambit are in desperate need of new maps and have been for years now.
    — Paul Tassi, Forbes, 2 Aug. 2022
  • Moshe was in the hospital for the fourth time, and his mother, Rae, was desperate.
    — Sarah Blesener, ProPublica, 28 Mar. 2022
  • The now desperate Sun Gym gang had tracked down their former captive.
    — Troy Roberts, CBS News, 8 Apr. 2026
  • Despite desperate attempts to reach her, the winds and currents drove us further apart.
    — Adam Sabes, FOXNews.com, 8 Apr. 2026
  • Only those who are desperate to seem cool would manufacture or farm aura.
    — Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 8 Apr. 2026
  • Alex Karaban’s last, desperate shot from far back with 17 seconds left was short of the rim, and fell to the floor.
    — Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 7 Apr. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'desperate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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