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Many people use the word “desperation” in a diluted way that doesn’t necessarily imply learned helplessness or suicidal thoughts. (I’m a native speaker) Exampl

Many people use the word “desperation” in a diluted way that doesn’t necessarily imply learned helplessness or suicidal thoughts. (I’m a native speaker) Example: “The team’s desperation increased as their opponent continued to score more points.”

cmehdy 5y ago
So that's a common hyperbole I guess? I've encountered the term "desperate situation" in writing (fiction) used to highlight subsequent achievements, but I assumed that every instance of "desperation" could at least be replaced with "hopelessness" - which doesn't have to be as harsh as the realities I know, but certainly go exactly opposite to the hope required for a small company to survive and thrive.
- CharlesW 5y ago
  > So that's a common hyperbole I guess? It's contextual, so if a friend is "desperate for a drink", it's not meant to be taken literally. When the author says, "When I think of my time at Instacart, I remember desperation", I assume they were feeling actual hopelessness.
- Minor49er 5y ago
  Desperation is often used as an opposite of hopelessness, but frequently close to one another. Desperation is typically resorting to careless or carefree means with the hope that a goal is achieved. It usually comes about when the typical or expected avenues of that outcome are closed, but there is still a strong desire for that outcome and a belief that it can still be achieved. For example, an employee is shooting for a big promotion. He's hopeful that he's going to get it. But his boss tells him that he's still not doing enough and won't get the role. If he was hopeless, he would simply give up, believing that there's no chance that he's going to get it this time. But if he was desperate, he would take additional uncouth or unexpected actions, like begging and pleading, or sabotaging the coworkers who also have a chance at the promotion. If those desperate attempts failed, then it would be hopeless.
  - cmehdy 5y ago
    I understand the term better thanks to your contextualization, thanks. Some online definitions indeed cite "recklessness due to despair" along with despair itself being a subjective "complete loss of hope" (despair's definition). So I can see the writing as trying to highlight the idea of making a "blind" effort through something that seems entirely lost and turning that into a driving force going forward.
    - pmichaud 5y ago
      Yes, I think you have it right, now. I’m actually surprised about your listed definitions because as a native english speaker, those definitions seem definitively wrong to me, as desperation means exactly that you haven’t quite yet given up hope even though the situation is dire. “Desperate” is like an intense kind of desire, which in my mind is the opposite of hopelessness.
      - cmehdy 5y ago
        I collated those definitions from a couple websites and they all closed in on the same terms, which is also what I had come to understand over the years. But it's possibly a case of definitions and usage shifting a bit, or maybe a cultural element (defined in British English vs American perhaps?). But I got the closer meaning by looking up "despair" rather than desperation, so it was one hop away :)

cmehdy 5y ago

So that's a common hyperbole I guess? I've encountered the term "desperate situation" in writing (fiction) used to highlight subsequent achievements, but I assumed that every instance of "desperation" could at least be replaced with "hopelessness" - which doesn't have to be as harsh as the realities I know, but certainly go exactly opposite to the hope required for a small company to survive and thrive.

CharlesW 5y ago
> So that's a common hyperbole I guess? It's contextual, so if a friend is "desperate for a drink", it's not meant to be taken literally. When the author says, "When I think of my time at Instacart, I remember desperation", I assume they were feeling actual hopelessness.
Minor49er 5y ago
Desperation is often used as an opposite of hopelessness, but frequently close to one another. Desperation is typically resorting to careless or carefree means with the hope that a goal is achieved. It usually comes about when the typical or expected avenues of that outcome are closed, but there is still a strong desire for that outcome and a belief that it can still be achieved. For example, an employee is shooting for a big promotion. He's hopeful that he's going to get it. But his boss tells him that he's still not doing enough and won't get the role. If he was hopeless, he would simply give up, believing that there's no chance that he's going to get it this time. But if he was desperate, he would take additional uncouth or unexpected actions, like begging and pleading, or sabotaging the coworkers who also have a chance at the promotion. If those desperate attempts failed, then it would be hopeless.
- cmehdy 5y ago
  I understand the term better thanks to your contextualization, thanks. Some online definitions indeed cite "recklessness due to despair" along with despair itself being a subjective "complete loss of hope" (despair's definition). So I can see the writing as trying to highlight the idea of making a "blind" effort through something that seems entirely lost and turning that into a driving force going forward.
  - pmichaud 5y ago
    Yes, I think you have it right, now. I’m actually surprised about your listed definitions because as a native english speaker, those definitions seem definitively wrong to me, as desperation means exactly that you haven’t quite yet given up hope even though the situation is dire. “Desperate” is like an intense kind of desire, which in my mind is the opposite of hopelessness.
    - cmehdy 5y ago
      I collated those definitions from a couple websites and they all closed in on the same terms, which is also what I had come to understand over the years. But it's possibly a case of definitions and usage shifting a bit, or maybe a cultural element (defined in British English vs American perhaps?). But I got the closer meaning by looking up "despair" rather than desperation, so it was one hop away :)