What does desperately mean?

desperately means "with great urgency". That is the primary sense; the word has 2 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in desperately?

desperately has 4 syllables: des-pera-te-ly. The stress falls on "des". In IPA it is /ˈdɛspɚətli/.

What is another word for desperately?

Close synonyms include urgently. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is desperately a common word?

desperately is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.

desperately — meaning, pronunciation and 2 definitions

adverb

2 sensesA word that modifies a verb, adjective or other adverb.

1.
with great urgency
“health care reform is needed urgently”
“the soil desperately needed potash”
Synonymsurgently
2.
in intense despair
“the child clung desperately to her mother”

Questions about desperately

What does desperately mean?: desperately means "with great urgency". That is the primary sense; the word has 2 in total, listed in full on this page.
How many syllables are in desperately?: desperately has 4 syllables: des-pera-te-ly. The stress falls on "des". In IPA it is /ˈdɛspɚətli/.
What is another word for desperately?: Close synonyms include urgently. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.
Is desperately a common word?: desperately is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.

Definitions, synonyms and semantic relations for desperately come from Princeton University’s WordNet. The pronunciation comes from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. Commonness is measured against a corpus of everyday English. Full sources and licences.

adverb

2 sensesA word that modifies a verb, adjective or other adverb.

1.
with great urgency
“health care reform is needed urgently”
“the soil desperately needed potash”
Synonymsurgently
2.
in intense despair
“the child clung desperately to her mother”

Questions about desperately

What does desperately mean?: desperately means "with great urgency". That is the primary sense; the word has 2 in total, listed in full on this page.
How many syllables are in desperately?: desperately has 4 syllables: des-pera-te-ly. The stress falls on "des". In IPA it is /ˈdɛspɚətli/.
What is another word for desperately?: Close synonyms include urgently. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.
Is desperately a common word?: desperately is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.

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desperately

adverb

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desperately

adverb

Questions about desperately