Desprate or desperate?
Did you mean desperate? Here's the right spelling and how to remember it.
Incorrect
desprate
Correct
desperate
Correct spelling: desperate. Misspelling: desprate.
letters the misspelling gets wrong or leaves out letters that shouldn't be there
Memory tip
There is an E after the P: des-PER-ate.
Why people write “desprate”
The misspelling “desprate” is only one letter off: it leaves out the E.
Spell-checkers catch the mistake in a document, but not in a handwritten note, a text message or a word game. Writing the word out a few times while saying the tricky part aloud is the quickest way to make desperate automatic.
What does “desperate” mean?
desperate noun
- a person who is frightened and in need of help
“they prey on the hopes of the desperate”
desperate adjective
- arising from or marked by despair or loss of hope
“a despairing view of the world situation”
Synonyms:despairing
- desperately determined
“do-or-die revolutionaries”
- (of persons) dangerously reckless or violent as from urgency or despair
“a desperate criminal”
- showing extreme courage; especially of actions courageously undertaken in desperation as a last resort
“made a last desperate attempt to reach the climber”
Synonyms:heroic
Definitions from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Full dictionary entry
“Desperate” in a sentence
- They made a desperate attempt to escape.
- They prey on the hopes of the desperate.
- A despairing view of the world situation.
- Do-or-die revolutionaries.
Is “desperate” a playable word?
12 points in Scrabble · 13 in Words With Friends
- Scrabble (US)
- Scrabble (UK)
- Words With Friends
“desprate” is not accepted in any of these games. See every word you can make from DESPERATE.