desperateness

 [des-per-it, -prit]  

des·per·ate

   [des-per-it, -prit]
adjective
1.
reckless or dangerous because of despair or urgency: a desperate killer.
2.
having an urgent need, desire, etc.: desperate for attention.
3.
leaving little or no hope; very serious or dangerous: a desperate illness.
4.
extremely bad; intolerable or shocking: clothes in desperate taste.
5.
extreme or excessive.
EXPAND
6.
making a final, ultimate effort; giving all: a desperate attempt to save a life.
7.
actuated by a feeling of hopelessness.
8.
having no hope; giving in to despair.
COLLAPSE
noun
9.
Obsolete. a desperado.

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Desperateness is always a great word to know.
So is ort. Does it mean:
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin dēspērātus, past participle of dēspērāre to despair; see -ate1

Related forms
des·per·ate·ly, adverb
des·per·ate·ness, noun
qua·si-des·per·ate, adjective
qua·si-des·per·ate·ly, adverb

Can be confused: desperate, disparate.

Synonyms
1. rash, frantic. 3. grave. See hopeless. 8. forlorn, desolate.

Antonyms
1. careful. 3, 8. hopeful.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To desperateness
Collins
World English Dictionary
desperate (ˈdɛspərɪt, -prɪt)
 
—adj (often postpositive and foll by for)
1.  careless of danger, as from despair; utterly reckless
2.  (of an act) reckless; risky
3.  used or undertaken in desperation or as a last resort: desperate measures
4.  critical; very grave: in desperate need
5.  in distress and having a great need or desire
6.  moved by or showing despair or hopelessness; despairing
 
[C15: from Latin dēspērāre to have no hope; see despair]
 
'desperately
 
—adv
 
'desperateness
 
—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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