desperation

/,despə'reiʃn/

Thân thiện

A man in desperation tries to open a locked door with a bent paperclip.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A state of despair; the complete loss or absence of hope: A feeling or situation where all hope is gone.
   • Recklessness arising from despair; a state of frantic urgency: A willingness to take extreme risks because the situation seems so hopeless that there is nothing left to lose.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • In his desperation, he called every contact he could think of. (Driven by his complete loss of hope, he tried every possible person.)
  • The policy was an act of pure desperation. (The policy was adopted out of reckless hopelessness.)
  • They were driven to desperation by the constant failures. (The repeated failures pushed them into a state of despair where they felt they had to try anything.)

Advanced Usage

• "In desperation": As a last resort because all other options have failed.
  • In desperation, she sold her jewelry to pay the rent. (As a final, hopeless act, she sold her jewelry.)
• "Courage/strength born of desperation": Bravery or resolve that comes specifically from being in a hopeless situation.
  • It was courage born of desperation that made him confront the bully. (His bravery was a direct result of having no other choice.)

Variants and Related Words

• Desperate (adj): Feeling or showing a hopeless sense that a situation is so bad as to be impossible to deal with; having a great need or desire for something.
  • He was desperate for a solution.
• Despair (n): The complete loss or absence of hope.
  • She was filled with despair after the news.

Synonyms

• Despair: The complete loss of hope.
• Hopelessness: A state without hope.
• Distress: Extreme anxiety, sorrow, or pain.
• Hysteria: Exaggerated or uncontrollable emotion or excitement, often stemming from desperation.

Related Phrases

• "Last-ditch effort": A final attempt made when everything else has failed, often done in desperation.
  • The lawsuit was a last-ditch effort to save the company.
• "Back is against the wall": To be in a difficult situation with no escape, often leading to desperate actions.
  • With his back against the wall, he had to make a desperate choice.

Học thuật

Noun

1. desperate recklessness
   • it was a policy of desperation
2. a state in which all hope is lost or absent
   • in the depths of despair
   • they were rescued from despair at the last minute
   • courage born of desperation

Từ đồng nghĩa

• despair