desperate

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

adj. hopeless, incurable; reckless, rash, foolhardy; furious, heroic. See rashness, hopelessness.

II

(Roget's IV) modif.

1. [Hopeless]

Syn. despairing, despondent, deSirous, in extremities; see hopeless 2 , sad 1 .

2. [Reckless]

Syn. incautious, frantic, wild; see careless 1 , rash .

3. [Extreme]

Syn. great, drastic, acute, dire; see extreme 2 , urgent 1 .

See Synonym Study at hopeless .

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) a.

1. reckless careless, dangerous, frantic, headlong, foolhardy, rash, out of control, *on a crash course, frenzied, death-defying.

2. despairing hopeless, beyond help, *at the end of one's rope, *back to the wall, incurable, irretrievable, futile, *sunk, lost, critical, grave.

3. extreme critical, grave, serious, crucial, urgent, acute, drastic, compelling.

ANT.: 1. careful, cautious, prudent, rational. 2. hopeful, optimistic. 3. trivial, minor, casual

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) adjective 1. Having lost all hope: despairing, despondent, forlorn, hopeless. See HOPE. 2. So serious as to be at the point of crisis or necessary to resolve a crisis: acute, climacteric, critical, crucial, dire. See SAFETY. 3. Extreme in degree, strength, or effect: fierce, furious, intense, terrible, vehement, violent. See BIG, STRONG.