English → Latin
“desperate” in Latin
dēspērōto have no hope of; to despair ofexspēswithout hope, hopeless, despairingorbōto deprive (someone) of parents, children, or other dear persons; to deprive, bereave or strip (someone) of any (especiaperīculōsusdangerous, hazardous, periloustemerāriusaccidental; casual, rash, heedless; recklessperdōto destroy, ruin, wreck; to waste, squander; to have no more, to be deprived of
The English word desperate itself goes back to Latin spērō, through dēspērātus.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
desperate
desperatus (of persons and things): exspes: spe carens or orbatus: spe dejectus (hopeless; of persons who have ceased to hope): discriminis plenus (very critical; of things; ☞ aleae plenus is poetical): *ad desperationem adductus: magna desperatione affectus (of persons): a desperate state of affairs, res desperatae or perditae; res perditae et desperatae: desperatio rerum omnium. Sometomes extremae res (suae, etc.); extrema, plur. In their desperate condition, in extremis rebus suis: our state is now almost desperate, res jam ad extremum perducta casum (Caes.; so ad extremum casum periculi - deductus, B. Alex., 7): how often have our affairs seemed almost desperate? quoties ad extrema periculorum ventum? (Liv. 7, 29, init.)
Filled with courage from despair, desperatione ira accensus (after Liv., 31, 17); extrema desperatione ad iram stimulatus (after Tac., Hist. 2, 44, extr.).
Desperate = very dangerous (of undertakings, etc.), periculosus; discriminis plenus; temerarius (☞ not desperatus).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for desperate?
- The usual Latin words for “desperate” are dēspērō, exspēs, orbō; also perīculōsus, temerārius, perdō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.