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desperation

 - 3 dictionary results

des⋅per⋅a⋅tion

  [des-puh-rey-shuhn]
Use desperation in a Sentence
–noun
1. the state of being desperate or of having the recklessness of despair.
2. the act or fact of despairing; despair.
Origin:
1325–75; ME desperacioun < L dēspērātiōn- (s. of dēspērātiō). See desperate, -ion

Synonyms:
1. See despair.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To desperation
des·per·a·tion   (děs'pə-rā'shən)   
n.  

  1. The condition of being desperate.

  2. Recklessness arising from despair.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

desperation 
c.1366, from L. desperationem, noun of action from desperare "lose hope" (see despair). Desperate (adj.) is attested from 1483, of persons, "despairing, hopeless," from L. desperatus "given up," pp. of desperare. In ref. to conditions, recorded from 1555; of an undertaking, from 1642.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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