desperationdes‧per‧a‧tion /ˌdespəˈreɪʃən/ ●○○ noun [uncountable] 
a look of desperationin/out of desperation She resorted to stealing food out of desperation. In desperation, we had to borrow the money.
EXAMPLES FROM THE CORPUS
- Anger that she wasn't answering now combined with concern and something approaching desperation in his mind.
- Even a minor incident reveals his desperate determination to overcome, the desperation of the poor.
- Even his last act of desperation proved a failure.
- Here, lawlessness, poverty and desperation were the norm.
- I went to the police in desperation!
- It was just a feeling of anger and desperation.
- Other self-defeating organizations rely on insincere optimism and empty slogans to mask an inner sense of desperation.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
the state of being desperate: (=make someone despair)· Escalating personal debts have driven many people to despair.
(=having a particular feeling but not talking about it) a woman whose life of quiet desperation threatens to overwhelm her
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE a woman whose life of quiet desperation threatens to overwhelm her· There was a mood of quiet desperation about Mr and Mrs Quigley.· Why do you think Thoreau said lives of quiet desperation?· Conversing politely over the tea-cups in the huge drawing-rooms, he sensed their quiet desperation.· There is a quiet desperation around the whole area.· The husband belongs to Scarlet, a woman whose life of quiet desperation threatens to overwhelm her.
VERB· He seeks to blackmail Headstone but succeeds only in driving the man to desperation.· Being driven to desperation, it occurred to him to seek a strong ally.· But even they had been known to take direct action when driven to desperation.· Boredom and isolation were driving Polly to desperation.
a look of desperationin/out of desperation She resorted to stealing food out of desperation. In desperation, we had to borrow the money.