Adjective

(en adjective)

Being filled with, or in a state of despair; hopeless.

* (William Shakespeare)

Since his exile she hath despised me most, / Forsworn my company and rail'd at me, / That I am desperate of obtaining her.

* , chapter=16

, title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=“[…] She takes the whole thing with desperate seriousness. But the others are all easy and jovial—thinking about the good fare that is soon to be eaten, about the hired fly, about anything.”}}

Without regard to danger or safety; reckless; furious.

* Macaulay

desperate expedients

Beyond hope; causing despair; extremely perilous; irretrievable.

Extreme, in a bad sense; outrageous.

* (William Shakespeare)

a desperate offendress against nature

* Macaulay

the most desperate of reprobates

Extremely intense.

Adjective

(en adjective)

Arousing pity, sympathy, or compassion.

The old man’s pathetic pleas for forgiveness stirred the young man’s heart.

Arousing scornful pity or contempt, often due to miserable inadequacy.

You can't even run two miles? That’s pathetic .

You're almost 26 years old and you still can't hold a real job? That's pathetic .

* {{quote-video, year=2005, title=

, passage=Well you'd better think of something because middle-aged tramps aren't cute, they're pathetic .}}

(obsolete) Expressing or showing anger; passionate.