desperate
/ˈdɛs.p(ə.)ɹɪt/
"desperate" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“desperate” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #4,151 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #4,151
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 13
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - In dire need (of something); having a dire need or desire.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | desperate |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈdɛs.p(ə.)ɹɪt/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #4,151 |
| Misspellings tracked | 13 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “desperate” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for desperate is 9 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈdɛs.p(ə.)ɹɪt/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,151 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for desperate, with forms such as "ddesperate", "depserate", and "deseprate". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "disparate", "desperately", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English desperat(e) (“desperate”), borrowed from Latin dēspērātus, perfect passive participle of dēspērō (“to be without hope”), see -ate (adjective-forming suffix). The noun is derived from the adjective or from the Latin source through substan… The correct English form is desperate, spelled D-E-S-P-E-R-A-T-E.
Definition
- 1In dire need (of something); having a dire need or desire.
- 2Being filled with, or in a state of, despair; hopeless.
- 3Beyond hope, leaving little reason for hope; causing despair; extremely perilous.
- 4Involving or employing extreme measures, without regard to danger or safety; reckless due to hopelessness.
- 5Extremely bad; outrageous, shocking; intolerable.
- 6Intense; extremely intense.
Etymology
From Middle English desperat(e) (“desperate”), borrowed from Latin dēspērātus, perfect passive participle of dēspērō (“to be without hope”), see -ate (adjective-forming suffix). The noun is derived from the adjective or from the Latin source through substantivization, see -ate (noun-forming suffix).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ddesperate,depserate,deseprate,despearte,desperaet,desperatte,desperrate,despertae,despperate,despreate,dessperate,dseperate,edsperate
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of desperate - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “desperate”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-E-S-P-E-R-A-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈdɛs.p(ə.)ɹɪt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “disparate” - see the side-by-side comparison. desperate vs disparate
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.