| 释义 |
▪ I. desperate, a., n., and adv.|ˈdɛspərət|
Also 5 dysperate, 6–7 desperat, 6 despert, 7 disperate, (erron.) desparate, 9 dial. des-, dispert.
[ad. L. dēspērāt-us, given up, despaired of, desperate, pa. pple. of dēspērāre to despair. Cf. parallel use of OF. desperé, desesperé, It. disperato, Sp., Pg. desesperado, and of despaired ppl. a.]
A. adj.
I.
†1. Of a person: Having lost or abandoned hope; in despair, despairing, hopeless. (Const. of.) Obs. or arch.
1483Caxton Cato I vij, Thenne the good man woofull and as desperate wente toward his thyrdde frende. 1489― Faytes of A. i. xviii. 55 Men thus desperate of mercy and pytie. 1529More Dyaloge iv. Wks. 266/1 The deuil is desperate and hath not nor cannot haue faith and trust in gods promises. 1548Hall Chron. 91 b, The citezens..desperate of all aide and succor. 1591Shakes. Two Gent. iii. ii. 5, I am desperate of obtaining her. 1621Burton Anat. Mel. iii. iv. ii. v. 781 Bede saith, Pilate died desperate eight years after Christ. 1678Shadwell Timon ii, Marry'd like some vulgar creature, which Snatches at the first offer, as if she Were desperate of having any other. 1865Carlyle Fredk. Gt. VI. xv. xiv. 109 Brühl still refuses to be desperate of his bad game.
†b. Of actions, etc.: Expressing or indicating despair, despairing. ? Obs.
1555Traves in Strype Eccl. Mem. III. App. xxxiii. 87 Without desperate voices, thoughts, gronyngs or woes. 1593Shakes. Lucr. 1038 She starteth To find some desperate instrument of death. a1656Hales Tracts (1677) 18 If St. Paul, in this place, meant the sin against the Holy Ghost, then this were the only desperate text in the whole Bible. 1826Disraeli Viv. Grey ii. xi, He was answered only with desperate sobs.
2. Of conditions, etc.: That leaves little or no room for hope; such as to be despaired of; extremely dangerous or serious.
1555Eden Decades Pref. (Arb.) 57 Th[e] expert phisitian vseth vehement remedies for desperate diseases. 1598Shakes. Merry W. iii. v. 127 My suite then is desperate; You'll vndertake her no more? 1659B. Harris Parival's Iron Age 211 The affaires of the North growing more desperate. 1683Brit. Spec. 31 A Man..in a desperate Sickness. 1720Swift To Yng. Clergyman, Younger brothers of obscure families, and others of desperate fortunes. 1747Wesley Prim. Physic (1762) 807 This has cured in a most desperate Case. 1827Pollock Course T. 1, Agony and grief and desperate woe. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) V. 56 Their case seemed desperate, for there was no one to help them.
†3. Of things (and persons): Despaired of, given up as hopeless; whose recovery is past hope; incurable, irretrievable, irreclaimable. desperate debt, a ‘bad’ debt; so desperate debtor. Obs. (exc. as associated with 7.)
1581Mulcaster Positions xxxv. (1887) 126 The Physician deliuereth the desperate sicke bodie to the Diuines care. 1615Heywood Foure Prentises Wks. 1874 II. 223, I haue bene the meanes to saue your desperate liues. 1651Hobbes Leviath. i. xi. 48 The estate of a desperate debtor. 1674tr. Scheffer's Lapland 125 So as to loose all hope of recovery..When they perceived him to be desperate [etc.]. 1770Langhorne Plutarch (1879) II. 819/2 Receiving debts which they had given up as desperate. 1819J. Greig Rep. Affairs Edin. 17 After deduction of desperate arrears. 1866Howells Venet. Life vi. 84 Those desperate scraps of meat which are found impracticable even by the sausage-makers.
b. Of an undertaking, etc.: That is, or may be, despaired of; which there is no hope of carrying out or accomplishing.
1642Fuller Holy & Prof. St. ii. xix. 126 If he throws up his desperate game, he may happily winne the next. 1647Clarendon Hist. Reb. v. (1702) I. 393 He saw his Journey into Ireland desperate. a1871Grote Eth. Fragm. v. (1876) 133 Aristotle regarded the successful prosecution of ethical enquiries as all but desperate.
II.
4. Of persons: Driven to desperation, reckless or infuriated from despair. Hence, Having the character of one in this condition; extremely reckless or violent, ready to run any risk or go any length.
c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon ix. 245 Reynawde setted noughte by his lyffe..for he was as a man dysperate. c1535Dr. Layton in Lett. on Suppress. Monast. (Camden) 76 Thabbot is a daingerouse desperate knave and a hardy. 1563–87Foxe A. & M. (1684) III. 914 Two or three desperate Villains knocked at the door. 1653H. Cogan tr. Pinto's Trav. iv. 9 He used me so cruelly, that becoming even desperate..I was..upon the point to have poysoned my self. 1718Freethinker No. 42 ⁋5 Want makes Men desperate. 1848Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 173 Plotters, many of whom were ruined and desperate men.
†b. Reckless, utterly careless (of). Obs. rare.
1601Shakes. Twel. N. v. i. 66 Heere in the streets, desperate of shame and state, In priuate brabble did we apprehend him. a1625Fletcher Love's Cure v. iii, Be'st thou desperate Of thine own life? Yet, dearest, pity mine!
c. Suffering extreme need or having a great desire for (colloq.).
a1958M. R. Rinehart in Webster (1961), The old lady was desperate for money. 1975Economist 8 Feb. 95/1 Scott Lithgow..were desperate for staff throughout the crisis. 1986Financial Times 21 July p. vi/2 Many New Zealanders ask why, in a world desperate for food, its most efficient dairy producers should be facing economic collapse.
5. Of actions, etc.: Characterized by the recklessness or resolution of despair; applied esp. to actions done or means resorted to in the last extremity, when all else fails, and the great risk of failure is accepted for the sake of the small but only chance of success; hence often connoting extreme violence of action such as is exercised in such conditions.
1579Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 64 In battayles there ought to be a doubtfull fight, and a desperat ende. 1623in Rushw. Hist. Coll. (1659) I. 120 According to the usual Proverb, A desperate Disease must have a desperate remedy. 1667Milton P.L. ii. 107 His look denounc'd Desperate revenge, and Battel dangerous To less than Gods. a1800Cowper Needless Alarm 132 Beware of desperate steps. 1832H. Martineau Hill & Valley ix. 134 This desperate pursuit of money. 1840Thirlwall Greece VII. 233 Alcetas made a desperate attempt to dislodge the enemy..but was repulsed. 1855Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. 225 A desperate conflict against overwhelming odds.
†b. Involving serious risk; very dangerous to undertake or enter upon. Obs.
1600Shakes. A.Y.L. v. iv. 32 This Boy..hath bin tutor'd in the rudiments Of many desperate studies, by his vnckle, Whom he reports to be a great Magitian. a1654Selden Table T. (Arb.) 69 Marriage is a desperate thing: the Frogs in æsop..would not leap into the Well, because they could not get out again.
†6. Of a quality denoting recklessness; outrageous, extravagant. Obs.
a1568R. Ascham Scholem. (Arb.) 54 If som Smithfeild Ruffian take vp..som fresh new othe..som new disguised garment, or desperate hat, fond in facion, or gaurish in colour. 1657J. Smith Myst. Rhet. 48 Catachresis..is an improper kinde of speech, somewhat more desperate than a Metaphor. 1661Sanderson Ussher's Power Princes Pref. (1683) 19 The desparate Principles and Resolutions of Quakers..who utterly refuse to take the Oath of Supremacy.
7. Of such a quality as to be despaired of; hopelessly or extremely bad; extreme, excessive, ‘awful’: cf. A 3, C, and desperately 5.
1604Shakes. Oth. ii. i. 22 The desperate Tempest hath so bang'd the Turkes, That their designement halts. 1615Stephens Satyr. Ess. (ed. 2) 18 But among all base writers of this time, I cannot reckon up more desperate rime. 1709Pope Ess. Crit. 271 Concluding all were desp'rate sots and fools, Who durst depart from Aristotle's rules. 1711Steele Spect. No. 113 ⁋4 She is such a desperate Scholar, that no Country Gentleman can approach her without being a Jest. 1814D. H. O'Brien Captiv. & Escape 156 It rained—blew—thundered—and lightened, I never recollect a more desperate night.
†B. n. Obs.
†1.
a. A person in despair.
b. One in a desperate condition, a wretch.
1563Foxe A. & M. 477 Laborious and painful to y⊇ desperats, a precher to the prisoners and comfortles. a1598Burleigh in Harl. Misc. (Malh.) II. 278 It sufficeth to weaken the discontented, but there is no way but to kill desperates. 1622Massinger & Dekker Virg. Mart. iii. iii, Miserable tatterdemallions, ragamuffins, and lousy desperates. 1854Emerson Lett. & Soc. Aims Wks. (Bohn) III. 173 [He] who sits among the young aspirants and desperates, quite sure and compact.
†2. One habituated to or ready for desperate deeds; = desperado 2.
c1611Chapman Iliad xxiv. 159 The deadliest desperate Of all about him. 1633J. Done Hist. Septuagint 204 Theeves, and Adulterous desperates, shaken off and damned by the Word of God. 1683Apol. Prot. France iii. 9 This young Desperate confessed, that he heard them say, That it was lawful to kill the King. 1718Freethinker No. 32 ⁋3 The Zeal of these frantick Desperates.
†b. In good sense: One who engages in a desperate or extremely perilous undertaking.
c1585? J. Polmon Famous Battles 17 Three hundred..young men who for commendation gotten by extreame perill are called the Desperates, the Forlorne hopen.
C. adv. Desperately, hopelessly; usually (colloq. and dial.) as an intensive: Excessively, extremely, ‘awfully’ (cf. A. 7).
1636Sir H. Blount Voy. Levant (1637) 109, I noted them so desperate malicious towards one another. 1655–60Stanley Hist. Philos. (1701) 59/2, I shewed them how desperate ill I was. 1830Galt Laurie T. iii. ii. (1849) 86 The road..was desperate bad. 1852Dickens Bleak. Ho. II. xxvi. 341 It's a desperate sharp night for a young lady to be out in. 1860Bartlett Dict. Amer. s.v., ‘I'm despert glad to see you.’
▪ II. desperate, v. rare.|ˈdɛspəreɪt|
[f. desperate a.]
trans. To render or drive desperate.
1801W. Taylor in Robberds Mem. I. 376 My ideas of perfection desperate attempt. 1842Mrs. Carlyle Lett. I. 159 Desperated by the notion of confessing myself ill.
▪ III. desperate
var. of disparate a. |