Desperate vs. Hopeless — What's the Difference?

Feeling or showing a hopeless sense that a situation is so bad as to be impossible to deal with

Having no hope; despairing

(of a person) having a great need or desire for something

Characterized by despair

Having lost all hope; despairing.

Having no possibility of being solved or dealt with; impossible

Marked by, arising from, or showing despair

Having no hope or chance of changing or improving

Reckless or violent because of despair

Without hope; despairing; not expecting anything positive.

Undertaken out of extreme urgency or as a last resort

Giving no ground of hope; promising nothing desirable; desperate.

Nearly hopeless; critical

Without talent, not skilled.

Suffering or driven by great need or distress

(of an adverse condition) Incurable.

Extremely intense

Destitute of hope; having no expectation of good; despairing.

In dire need (of something); having a dire need or desire.

Giving no ground of hope; promising nothing desirable; desperate; as, a hopeless cause.

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

Unhoped for; despaired of.

Beyond hope, leaving little reason for hope; causing despair; extremely perilous.

Without hope because there seems to be no possibility of comfort or success;

Involving or employing extreme measures, without regard to danger or safety; reckless due to hopelessness.

Of a person unable to do something skillfully;

Extremely bad; outrageous, shocking; intolerable.

Certain to fail;

Intense; extremely intense.

(informal to emphasize how bad it is) beyond hope of management or reform;

A person in desperate circumstances or who is at the point of desperation, such as a down-and-outer, addict, etc.

Without hope; given to despair; hopeless.

Beyond hope; causing despair; extremely perilous; irretrievable; past cure, or, at least, extremely dangerous; as, a desperate disease; desperate fortune.

Proceeding from, or suggested by, despair; without regard to danger or safety; reckless; furious; as, a desperate effort.

Extreme, in a bad sense; outrageous; - used to mark the extreme predominance of a bad quality.

One desperate or hopeless.

A person who is frightened and in need of help;

Arising from or marked by despair or loss of hope;

Desperately determined;

(of persons) dangerously reckless or violent as from urgency or despair;

Showing extreme courage; especially of actions courageously undertaken in desperation as a last resort;

Showing extreme urgency or intensity especially because of great need or desire;

Fraught with extreme danger; nearly hopeless;