semidesperation en · NOUN
Etymology
From semi- + desperation.
Meanings
-
(uncountable) A state approaching desperation.
[…]the old gentleman […] pooh-poohed the idea, and finally dismissed Henry in a state of semidesperation[…]
1858, Biddulph Warner, The coquette, page 6:The call of semidesperation via a high-tech status symbol is an emblem of the gap between the past and the present for many of urban America’s self-employed.
2009 June 7, Emily Bazelon, “The Self-Employed Depression”, in New York Times: