hopelessness
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of hopelessness
First recorded in 1805–10; hopeless ( def. ) + -ness ( def. )
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.
He added there was a "sense of hopelessness that comes with all of this", and that he did not really know what was going on.
From BBC • May 13, 2026
These included anhedonia, feelings of hopelessness, and a sense of failure, in both women with and without HIV.
From Science Daily • May 4, 2026
"It just feels bizarre, and I find so many of us don't really know how to feel right now, besides rage and hopelessness," she said.
From Barron's • Feb. 2, 2026
The song, from Harrison’s first solo album after the Beatles’ breakup, urges the listener not to be swallowed by “the hopelessness around you in the dead of night.”
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 18, 2025
Neither one of them said anything for a while, a sense of hopelessness wafting between their minds.
From "The Maze Runner" by James Dashner
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.
