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
• 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 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
• 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
• The Parks Department said those large parks are in desperate need of cash.
  — John Tuohy, The Indianapolis Star, 3 Jan. 2024
• Both teams are in desperate need of wins on Thursday evening.
  — Catena Media, al, 19 Jan. 2023
• In the meantime, health care workers with their feet on the ground are desperate for pockets of air.
  — Jay Baruch, STAT, 10 Nov. 2022
• In times like these, even good people can end up in desperate straits when things go bad.
  — Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 May 2023
• The host is the one person on Oscar night who isn’t allowed to look desperate.
  — Vulture, 13 Mar. 2023
• Growing desperate, Tepper wanted the team to move up to the No. 1 spot in the draft and land a quarterback.
  — Steve Reed, The Enquirer, 9 Jan. 2024
• The team is in desperate need of productive guard play.
  — Rahat Huq, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2024
• After starting 2-7, the Raiders have now won three in a row to sit at 5-7 and are desperate to catch the New York Jets for the last wild-card spot in the playoffs.
  — Chris Ilenstine, Chicago Tribune, 8 Dec. 2022
• Fans of the fast-growing sport say South Florida is in desperate need of more places to play.
  — Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel, 7 Jan. 2023
• One friend, whose bag was lost, was in desperate need of a foundation, but none of our group had a shade match for her.
  — Kiana Murden, Vogue, 27 Nov. 2024
• The decision to write came from a desire to do more with her time and a desperate need to tell stories.
  — Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Jan. 2023
• On came the Buffaloes’ field-goal unit, an all-too-familiar sight for a team in desperate need of more points.
  — Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2023
• There’s always a social code that can save you in a moment of desperate agony.
  — Caitlin Huston, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Dec. 2023
• The franchise is desperate to reclaim itself among the greats.
  — Marlowe Alter, Detroit Free Press, 2 Apr. 2023
• Their desperate swordplay takes them racing up along a set of balconies above a tiled throne room.
  — Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 11 Dec. 2024
• But crowds of desperate people wait to see them, hoping finally for an answer to what happened to a loved one.
  — Clarissa Ward, CNN, 12 Dec. 2024

Last Updated: 29 Dec 2024