Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

desperately

/ˈdɛs.p(ə.)ɹət.li/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.98 in modern English

Syllables: des-per-ate-ly
IPA: /ˈdɛs.p(ə.)ɹət.li/

17

Scrabble Score

11

Letters

4

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

adv

In a desperate manner; without regard to danger or safety; recklessly.

adv

Example Sentences

"She desperately grabbed at the nearby branches as she heard the branch she was standing on start to snap."
"I could desperately do with some coffee right now."
"I just need you miserably Broken man come to me I just need you desperately Just want to change your mind"
"The patient, who lumbers painfully, has a question: She desperately wants a knee replacement, but doesn’t understand why three doctors have rejected her. Ms. Purdie translates doctorspeak."
"The race for silver medal was desperately close, they needed a photo finish to separate the runners."
"They would be surprised to discover that we're all actually fighting for the same thing; that is, the sacredness of human love. The trouble is, they have almost every one of their facts totally and desperately wrong. Those who would lecture us on the "immorality" of our lives don't know the first thing about how we actually live them."

Etymology

Etymology tree English desperate Middle English -ly English -ly English desperately From desperate + -ly.

Inflected Forms

more desperately (comparative) most desperately (superlative)

Synonyms

urgently

Questions

How do you pronounce desperately?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈdɛs.p(ə.)ɹət.li/.
What does desperately mean?: In a desperate manner; without regard to danger or safety; recklessly.
Where does desperately come from?: Etymology tree English desperate Middle English -ly English -ly English desperately From desperate + -ly.

How to pronounce desperately

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “desperately”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈdɛs.p(ə.)ɹət.li/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “desperately”.
Repeat and practice — Say “desperately” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.