The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Desperately \Des"per*ate*ly\, adv.
   In a desperate manner; without regard to danger or safety;
   recklessly; extremely; as, the troops fought desperately.
   [1913 Webster]

         She fell desperately in love with him.   --Addison.
   [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

desperately
    adv 1: with great urgency; "health care reform is needed
           urgently"; "the soil desperately needed potash" [syn:
           urgently, desperately]
    2: in intense despair; "the child clung desperately to her
       mother"

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

46 Moby Thesaurus words for "desperately":
   a corps perdu, carelessly, demonically, fanatically, fiercely,
   forlornly, frantically, frenetically, furiously, happen what may,
   hastily, head over heels, headfirst, headforemost, headlong,
   heedlessly, heels over head, helter-skelter, holus-bolus,
   hopelessly, hotheadedly, hotly, hurriedly, hurry-scurry,
   impetuously, impossibly, like crazy, like mad, like one possessed,
   madly, overeagerly, overenthusiastically, overzealously,
   precipitantly, precipitately, precipitously, ramble-scramble,
   recklessly, severely, slam-bang, slap-bang, slapdash,
   uncontrollably, violently, wantonly, wildly