DESPERATELY Copy link • DESPERATELYdesperanter (without hope). With verbs and adjectives, it expresses the intensity of the action or quality, and may be variously translated: improbe; sceleste; male; summe; suinmopere; maxime; valde; vehementer; acriter; pertinaciter. To defend one’s self desperately., *pertinacissime, or acerrime repugnare, resistere: to fall desperately in love, perdite or misere amare: to try desperately, perdite conari (Quint.): omnibus viribus contendere et laborare; omni ope atque opera eniti (ut, etc.): to be desperately angry, gravissima ira flagrare. It may often be translated by the superlative: desperately foolish, stolidissimus.