desperate
[UK]/'des.pər.ət/ [US]/-pɚ-/
adjective
SERIOUS 严重的
A
* very serious or bad
非常严重的，非常糟糕的

1. desperate poverty
赤贫

2. a desperate shortage of food/supplies
食物／供应品的极度匮乏

3. The situation is desperate - we have no food, very little water and no medical supplies.
形势非常严峻——我们没有食物和药物，只有很少的水。

A
* very great or extreme
巨大的；极端的；非常的

1. The earthquake survivors are in desperate need of help.
地震幸存者极需帮助。

2. He has a desperate desire to succeed.
他非常渴望成功。

3. informal I'm in a desperate hurry.
我饿极了。

[UK]/'des.pər.ət/ [US]/-pɚ-/
adjective
WANTING 想要的
A [usually after verb]
* needing or wanting something very much
非常需要的；非常想要的

1. They are desperate for help.
他们非常需要帮助。

2. humorous I'm desperate for a drink!
我特别想喝一杯！

3. [+ to infinitive] He was desperate to tell someone his good news.
他很想把自己的好消息告诉别人。

[UK]/'des.pər.ət/ [US]/-pɚ-/
adjective
RISKY 冒险的
A
* feeling that you have no hope and are ready to do anything to change the bad situation you are in
（因绝望而）拼命的，不顾一切的

1. The doctors made one last desperate attempt/effort to save the boy's life.
医生们为挽救男孩的生命作了最后一次努力。

2. Desperate measures are needed to deal with the growing drug problem.
需要对越来越严重的毒品问题采取强而有力的措施。

3. They made a desperate plea for help.
他们拼命求助。

* willing to be violent, and therefore dangerous
疯狂的，狂暴的

1. This man is desperate and should not be approached as he may have a gun.
此人已是亡命之徒，可能还有枪，千万不要靠近。

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desperate ★★★☆☆

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☞ desperate
des·per·ate / 5despErEt / adjective1. feeling or showing that you have little hope and are ready to do anything without worrying about danger to yourself or others
   (因绝望而)不惜冒险的,不顾一切的,拚命的:
   The prisoners grew increasingly desperate.
   犯人因绝望而越来越胆大妄为。
   Stores are getting desperate after two years of poor sales.
   两年来销路不畅,商店不惜冒起险来。
   Somewhere out there was a desperate man, cold, hungry, hunted.
   那外面有个男人又冷又饿,还有人抓他,走投无路了。
   I heard sounds of a desperate struggle in the next room.
   我听到隔壁房间里有拚命挣扎的声音。
2. [usually before noun] (of an action 行为) giving little hope of success; tried when everything else has failed
   绝望的；孤注一掷的；铤而走险的:
   a desperate bid for freedom
   孤注一掷争取自由的努力
   She clung to the edge in a desperate attempt to save herself.
   为了活命,她拚命抓住边缘。
   His increasing financial difficulties forced him to take desperate measures.
   不断增加的经济困难迫使他采取了铤而走险的办法。
   Doctors were fighting a desperate battle to save the little girl's life.
   医生们不惜一切地奋力抢救小女孩的生命。
3. [not usually before noun] ~ (for sth) | ~ (to do sth) needing or wanting sth very much
   非常需要；极想；渴望:
   He was so desperate for a job he would have done anything.
   他当时太想找份工作了,什么事都愿意干。
   I was absolutely desperate to see her.
   我极想见到她。
  (informal) I'm desperate for a cigarette.
   我很想抽支烟。
4. (of a situation 情况) extremely serious or dangerous
   极严重的；极危险的；很危急的:
   The children are in desperate need of love and attention.
   这些孩子非常需要爱心和关怀。
   They face a desperate shortage of clean water.
   他们面临无污染水源的严重短缺。
• des·per·ate·ly adv.:
    desperately ill / unhappy / lonely
   病得厉害；极为不快；极其孤独
   He took a deep breath, desperately trying to keep calm.
   他深深地吸了口气,竭尽全力保持镇定。
   They desperately wanted a child.
   他们非常想要一个孩子。
   She looked desperately around for a weapon.
   她在四下里找,急于弄到一件武器。

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desperate adj.

• VERBS be, feel, look, seem, sound | become, get I was starting to get ~. | make sb The sudden loss of his money had made him ~.

• ADVERB extremely, fairly, very, etc. | really, truly | absolutely, utterly She felt utterly ~. | increasingly | almost | a little, slightly, etc.

• PREPOSITION about I felt ~ about my future.

Desperate is used with these nouns: appeal, attempt, bid, circumstance, craving, cry, desire, effort, fight, gamble, hope, loneliness, longing, look, lunge, measure, move, need, plea, plight, remedy, scramble, search, shortage, situation, state, strait, struggle, tiredness, trouble, urge, urgency, wish, yearning

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desperate adj.
⇨ desperate (feel desperate) ⇨ serious 1 (in desperate need) desperate

adjective

desperate ♦︎ in despair ♦︎ despairing ♦︎ suicidal ♦︎ hopelessThese words all describe sb who feels or shows little or no hope. 这些词均表示感到绝望的或显得绝望的。PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS 句型和搭配◆desperate / in despair / despairing about sth◆a desperate / despairing cry / look◆to feel desperate / suicidal / hopeless◆almost desperate / in despair / despairing / suicidal■ desperate ˈdespərət (of a person) feeling that you have little hope and are ready to do anything without worrying about danger to yourself or others; (of an action) giving little hope of success; tried when everything else has failed （人）不惜冒险的，不顾一切的；（行为）孤注一掷的，铤而走险的◆I was starting to get desperate.我开始变得不顾一切了。◆Somewhere out there was a desperate man, cold, hungry, hunted.外面有个男人又冷又饿，还被人追捕，已经走投无路了。◆I heard sounds of a desperate struggle.我听到了拼命挣扎的声音。◆He made a desperate bid for freedom.他为获自由孤注一掷。◆She clung to the edge in a desperate attempt to save herself.为了活命，她拼命抓住那边缘不放。▸ desperately

adverb

◆He took a deep breath, desperately trying to keep calm.他深吸一口气，竭力保持镇静。◆She looked desperately around for a weapon.她四处寻找，急于弄到一件武器。■ in deˈspair

phrase

feeling that you have lost all hope 绝望地◆Ruth shook her head in despair.露丝绝望地摇了摇头。◆Eventually, he gave up in despair.最终，他绝望地放弃了。■ despairing (written) feeling or showing that you have lost all hope 感到绝望的；表现绝望的◆With every day that passed he became ever more despairing.随着日子一天天过去，他变得更绝望了。◆With a despairing cry, she flung herself onto the sofa.她绝望地叫了一声，扑倒在沙发上。▸ despairingly

adverb

◆She looked despairingly at the mess.她绝望地看着眼前这一片狼藉。■ suicidal ˌsuːɪˈsaɪdl, BrE also ˌsjuːɪˈsaɪdlpeople who are suicidal feel that they want to kill themselves 想自杀的；有自杀倾向的◆On bad days I felt almost suicidal.赶上不顺心的日子，我都觉得不想活了。◆Some sufferers admit to suicidal tendencies.有些患者承认有自杀倾向。  see also suicide ⇨ murder ■ hopeless feeling or showing no hope 感到绝望的；表现绝望的◆She felt lonely and hopeless.她觉得孤独绝望。◆With a hopeless shrug of resignation, he turned back.他绝望地耸了耸肩，无可奈何地转过身去。 OPP hopeful ⇨ optimistic NOTE 辨析 In despair, despairing or hopeless?If you are in despair or despairing, you often feel frustrated that sth is not going to happen or change after waiting or trying for a long time. This feeling is often shown as anger, crying or shouting. If you are hopeless, you are sad and depressed because you feel that nothing good can happen. This feeling is often shown as sadness or being quiet. * in despair或despairing指因长期等待或尝试后某事仍不发生或改变而感到受挫，常以愤怒、哭泣或呼喊的方式表现。hopeless则指因觉得不会有好事发生而难过或沮丧，常以悲伤或沉默的方式表现。

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desperate

adjective
1 he gave me a desperate look
DESPAIRING , hopeless;
ANGUISHED , distressed, in despair, suicidal; miserable, wretched, desolate; forlorn, disheartened, discouraged, demoralized, devastated, downcast, resigned, defeatist, pessimistic; distraught, fraught, overcome, out of one's mind, at one's wits' end, beside oneself, at the end of one's tether; poetic/literary dolorous.
-opposite(s): CHEERFUL ; COMPOSED.

2 a desperate attempt to escape
LAST-DITCH , last-chance, last-resort, last-minute, last-gasp, eleventh-hour, all-out, do-or-die, final;
FRANTIC , frenzied, wild, straining; futile, hopeless, doomed, lost.

3 his finances were in a desperate state
GRAVE , serious, dangerous, risky, perilous, hazardous, precarious, critical, acute;
DIRE , very bad, calamitous, appalling, awful, terrible, frightful, dreadful, outrageous, intolerable, deplorable, lamentable, sorry, poor; hopeless, irretrievable; informal lousy, chronic; archaic or humorous parlous.

4 the church is in desperate need of repair
URGENT , pressing, compelling, crying; acute, critical, crucial, vital, drastic, serious, grave, dire, extreme, great; formal exigent.

5 they were desperate for food | she is desperate to get back to work
IN GREAT NEED OF , urgently requiring, craving, in want of, lacking, wanting;
EAGER , aching, longing, yearning, hungry, thirsty, thirsting, itching, crying out, desirous; informal dying.

6 armed bands of desperate men
RECKLESS , rash, hasty, impetuous, foolhardy, madcap; audacious, daring, bold, determined, death-or-glory, death-defying; wild, lawless, violent, cruel, brutal, hardened, savage, frantic, mad, frenzied; informal harum-scarum, bull in a china shop.

7 a desperate act
RECKLESS , rash, foolhardy;
RISKY , hazardous, daring, precipitate, hare-brained, wild, imprudent, incautious, injudicious, indiscreet, ill-conceived.

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desperate 绝望的，铤而走险的
来自despair, 绝望。

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