despair
Americannoun
-
loss of hope; hopelessness.
- Synonyms:
- disheartenment, gloom
- Antonyms:
- hope
-
someone or something that causes hopelessness.
He is the despair of his mother.
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
verb
-
to lose or give up hope
I despair of his coming
-
obsolete (tr) to give up hope of; lose hope in
noun
-
total loss of hope
-
a person or thing that causes hopelessness or for which there is no hope
Usage
What does despair mean? To despair is to lose all hope. Despair can also be used as a noun meaning complete hopelessness. Despair usually involves deep sadness and emotional pain about something that has happened or that hasn’t happened—something usually triggers the despair. This is especially the case in serious and very negative situations that involve finality, such as death or a devastating loss in a political election. The verb despair implies that one is giving up—that they believe there is nothing more to be done to make things better. When someone says, “Don’t despair,” they’re telling you not to lose hope—to keep trying or to believe that things can improve. When used as a verb, despair is sometimes followed by the word of and the thing for which hope has been lost, as in I have despaired of her ever coming back. Much less commonly, despair can be used as a noun referring to someone or something that causes despair, as in He is the despair of the nation. The word despairing can be used as an adjective to describe people who are experiencing despair or things that involve despair, as in a despairing look. Example: He was filled with despair at the sight of the scoreboard, which showed an insurmountable lead with only minutes left.
Synonym Usage
Despair, desperation, despondency, discouragement, hopelessness refer to a state of mind caused by circumstances that seem too much to cope with. Despair suggests total loss of hope, which may be passive or may drive one to furious efforts, even if at random: in the depths of despair; courage born of despair. Desperation is usually an active state, the abandonment of hope impelling to a furious struggle against adverse circumstances, with utter disregard of consequences: an act of desperation when everything else had failed. Despondency is a state of deep gloom and disheartenment: a spell of despondency. Discouragement is a loss of courage, hope, and ambition because of obstacles, frustrations, etc.: His optimism yielded to discouragement. Hopelessness is a loss of hope so complete as to result in a more or less permanent state of passive despair: a state of hopelessness and apathy.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
despairsimple
-
despairssimple
-
have despairedperfect
-
has despairedperfect
-
am despairingprogressive
-
are despairingprogressive
-
is despairingprogressive
-
have been despairingperfect progressive
-
has been despairingperfect progressive
Past
-
despairedsimple
-
had despairedperfect
-
was despairingprogressive
-
were despairingprogressive
-
had been despairingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of despair
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English despeir (noun), despeiren (verb), from Anglo-French despeir, Old French despoir (noun), desperer (verb), from Latin dēspērāre “to be without hope,” from dē- de- + spērāre “to hope” (derivative of spēs “hope”)
Explanation
Despair is the feeling of not having any hope left. If you completely forgot to study for your final exam in math, you might feel despair when your teacher passes out the test. Despair can also refer to someone or something that causes you to worry or be sad. Unfortunately, some children are the despair of their parents. The verb despair means to lose hope. Despair is from Latin desperare "to be without hope," from the prefix de- "without" plus sperare "to hope," from spes "hope."
Vocabulary lists containing despair
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A Long Walk to Water
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The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
After days of despair, he said he made a different choice — to survive.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
But remember, despair isn’t activism—it’s just another impediment to progress.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
We danced because grief without community becomes isolation, and isolation is where despair does its best work.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
Marked by moody, lo-fi production, the group’s intense sophomore album explores the duality of despair and hope.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
“I’ve never known despair and I don’t think I ever will,” he wrote to me once.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
Insp Boiles despairs over parents buying them for children: "We do have parents attend a police station quite a lot, getting very, very upset that their child's £500 e-scooter has been seized."
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Kakar despairs at the plight of Afghans who remain in Pakistan.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 28, 2024
Then Isabel’s despairs stack, pressing her to expand her inquiry beyond the United States and diagnose history’s gravest injuries.
From Salon ● Jan. 26, 2024
Pedro Sánchez, the contractor, who also holds the honorary post of mayor of San Bartolomé, likewise despairs of the weak dollar that has slowed construction.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2023
Remove a bonobo from its mother, and it immediately despairs.
From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer
But closer to the high-security perimeter, a crowd of worshippers despaired as police officers blocked their route.
From Barron's ● Jun. 7, 2026
After deep contemplation, she despaired, writing: “Nature’s silence is its one remark, and every flake of world is a chip off that old mute and immutable block.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 16, 2026
As Aduba ran through scenes in which Chisholm triumphantly campaigned or despaired at the obstacles to her success, “You could hear a pin drop,” Blanchett said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2025
You despaired because buying merchandise—both Fanatics’ own and products it retails—did not satiate your appetite to do e-commerce with this company.
From Slate ● Mar. 7, 2025
“Better, ten kilos of rice and two bars of soap,” she said, which we do need badly, but I despaired for an imaginary windfall that would bring nothing but more white starch into this house.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
Tippett, a former NHS England boss who led on personalised care, told the BBC the result was "despairing".
From BBC ● May 19, 2026
“Especially in despairing economic times we need to ensure people aren’t being denied access.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 18, 2026
But Nina soon found herself despairing, once she realized she could not leave her hiding place.
From Barron's ● Feb. 2, 2026
Any freelance journalist who finds herself despairing over the paltry rates that today’s assigning editors are offering might want to familiarize herself with Fanny Fern before her next negotiation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 27, 2026
Not long after his arrival, Louie was standing at the base, sweating and despairing over the landscape, when a squarish second lieutenant walked up and introduced himself.
From "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
