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noun ADJ. sheer | quiet | growing We realized with a sense of growing desperation that nobody knew we were in there. QUANT. hint, note There was a note of desperation in her voice. VERB + DESPERATION feel | drive sb to Driven to desperation by our noisy neighbours, we called the police. PREP. in (your) ~ In desperation, I decided to try acupuncture. In his desperation to escape, Tom had slipped and broken a leg. | out of ~ At the end of the film, the man becomes a thief out of sheer desperation. | ~ about/at Many of us feel a quiet desperation at the future. PHRASES an act of desperation The robbery was an act of desperation. | courage, strength, etc. born of desperation With strength born of desperation, she managed to break down the door.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary