despondency
Americannoun
Synonym Usage
See despair.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of despondency
Explanation
Despondency is a sad emotional state — much like depression. If you're in a state of despondency, you're feeling hopeless and super bummed out. Despondency is one of many emotional states that are not pleasant — it's a kind of extreme sadness. Stubbing your toe wouldn't trigger despondency, but the death of a family member or friend might. When people lose their jobs or experience failure, despondency can happen — they feel despondent. Despondency can include not only sadness, but feelings of hopelessness. It's a terrible way to feel, and it's not easy to get over it.
Vocabulary lists containing despondency
A Wrinkle in Time
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The Gene
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Bill Parcells' Hall of Fame Induction Speech
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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.
Born during China’s boom years, this generation is now entering adulthood with dwindling opportunities, fiercer competition and a growing sense of despondency that years of hard work won’t pay off.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
The ’90s-era nihilism that threaded so many of Araki’s films has taken a hard slant toward technological despondency.
From Salon ● Jul. 31, 2026
Arsenal's joy in Italy contrasted with despondency in Norway for Premier League heavyweights Man City.
From Barron's ● Jan. 20, 2026
His was a platform that may well have been ideal for despondency.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2025
“I too still believed that I had found something new,” he would later write, with more than a tinge of envy and despondency.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
