From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdesperationdes‧per‧a‧tion /ˌdespəˈreɪʃən/ ●○○ noun [uncountable] SERIOUS SITUATIONthe state of being desperate 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
desperation• It was just a feeling of anger and desperation.• Here, lawlessness, poverty and desperation were the norm.• Anger that she wasn't answering now combined with concern and something approaching desperation in his mind.• I went to the police in desperation!• Even his last act of desperation proved a failure.• Other self-defeating organizations rely on insincere optimism and empty slogans to mask an inner sense of desperation.• Even a minor incident reveals his desperate determination to overcome, the desperation of the poor.in/out of desperation• His family, meanwhile, insisted he acted out of desperation to save himself and his pregnant fiancee from an angry crowd.• He is a supply hooligan, acting out of desperation not loyalty.• Dumping sometimes comes out of desperation.• Finally, out of desperation, even mainstream politicians began to search for new approaches. 