Emily Dickinson Lexicon

DES'PE-RATE, a. [L. desperatus, from despero, to despair.]

1. Without hope. I am desperate of obtaining her. – Shak.
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. – Pope.