DESPERATE, adjective [Latin To despair.] 1. Without hope. I am desperate of obtaining her. 2. Without care of safety; rash; fearless of danger; as a desperate man. Hence, 3. Furious, as a man in despair. 4. Hopeless; despaired of; lost beyond hope of recovery; irretrievable; irrecoverable; forlorn. We speak of a desperate case of disease, desperate fortunes, a desperate situation or condition. 5. In a popular sense, great in the extreme; as a desperate sot or fool.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI