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)
-
despairs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
despaired,
past participle, past
-
despairing
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
despairs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
despaired,
past participle, past
-
despairing
present participle
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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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:
Recalling how he rushed to the site of the crash, Fernandez said he was confronted with "an image of desolation, despair, uncertainty, death".
From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2026
Unlike bear-market bottoms, which typically end with a spasm of despair as traders throw in the towel, bull-market tops are far more gradual and less dramatic.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026
She said she used to work in these deprived northern suburbs, where poverty and crime rates are very high, and feared a whole lost generation was criminalising itself through anger and despair.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026
Both said that the scandal dominating the headlines and the loss of their dream jobs sent them into the depths of despair.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
Just when Ophie began to despair, she remembered.
From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland
Now 27, she despairs when hearing another Cornell president talk about reforming the Greek system.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Marriage is the main topic, both the joys and despairs, in numbers that make ambivalence energizing, fun, poignant and, most important, resonantly true.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2024
Kakar despairs at the plight of Afghans who remain in Pakistan.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 28, 2024
Now he despairs of the international community because it is not doing more to stop the fighting.
From BBC ● Jan. 7, 2024
“I will name him. Yes. I will name this mouse Despereaux, for all the sadness, for the many despairs in this place. Now, where is my mirror?”
From "The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread" by Kate DiCamillo
Engels recounted that Marx later despaired at what his French disciples made of his work, declaring that he himself was no Marxist.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
Fans have cheered and despaired at the World Cup's most exciting - and nail-biting - moments in pubs, watch parties and sitting rooms across the country.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
But closer to the high-security perimeter, a crowd of worshippers despaired as police officers blocked their route.
From Barron's ● Jun. 7, 2026
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
I felt it acutely, like a deep hunger for protein, and despaired for the flat-dirt expanse between Anatole and me.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
The bolder choice would have been to commit to expressing the despairing lessons of this world.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
Despite facing notable challenges and coming of age in a culture infected by “big woe,” or an onslaught of despairing information, Moore believes there is still reason for young people to be optimistic.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026
Parents, siblings and best friends are interviewed by Ms. Borgman, all singing the praises of the deceased but almost uniformly despairing of the results of the case, a plea deal to avoid the death penalty.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
The angry, despairing look on team owner Lawrence Stroll's face in Bahrain said it all.
From BBC ● Mar. 3, 2026
He said nothing else, but the shocked, outraged, despairing note of anguish in the word said all the rest.
From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles
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