despair
noun
de·spair
| \ di-ˈsper
\
\
Definition of despair
(Entry 1 of 2)
1
: utter loss of hope
a cry of despair gave up in despair
2
: a cause of hopelessness
an incorrigible child is the despair of his parents
despair
verb
despaired;
despairing;
despairs
Definition of despair (Entry 2 of 2)
: to lose all hope or confidence
despair of winning
obsolete
: to lose hope for
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Synonyms & Antonyms for despair
Synonyms: Noun
desperation, despond, despondence, despondency, forlornness, hopelessness
Synonyms: Verb
Antonyms: Noun
Antonyms: Verb
brighten, cheer (up), perk (up)
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Examples of despair in a Sentence
Noun
On the occasion of Johnson's tercentenary, Martin (A Life of James Boswell) searches out the psychological elements covered up by Boswell and others: the immense insecurities, bouts of deep depression, corrosive self-doubt and, in his last days, despair for his very soul. — Publishers Weekly, 21 July 2008 Players who'd been on the 2004 Olympic team joked about whether their two bronze medals equaled one silver. There was none of the despair or finger-pointing that followed the world championships in '02, when Team USA finished sixth. — Kelly Anderson, Sports Illustrated, 11 Sept. 2006 The people who try to save endangered species in Hawaii are immune to despair. They have to be, to keep doing what they do. — Lawrence Downes, New York Times, 19 Dec. 2004 His despair nearly drove him mad. I was overcome by despair at being unable to find them. She finally gave up in despair. The people were driven to despair by the horrors of war. This latest setback has brought her to the depths of despair.Verb
It is possible that at this stage Caesar had not altogether despaired of a consensual solution to the difficulties facing the Republic. — Anthony Everitt, Cicero, (2001) 2003 Sometimes it is hard not to despair about relations between men and women in American society. They seem to have hit rock bottom. — Elisabeth Lasch-Quinn, New Republic, 6 May 2002 Yet, until very recently, Alzheimer's was so poorly understood that scientists despaired of finding a treatment, much less a cure. — Ken Garber, Technology, March 2001 Things look bad now, but don't despair. we despaired when we saw how little time we had left to complete our project
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Rounding out the package is a score by Oscar regular Alexandre Desplat that brings out the lighter side of all the debt and despair. — Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Adults in the Room': Film Review | Venice 2019," 31 Aug. 2019 This week, Lana Del Rey’s Norman F—king Rockwell! comes out swinging as a statement of American despair over languid, beautiful melodies. — Raisa Bruner, Time, "The 5 Best Songs of the Week, From Lana Del Rey to Post Malone," 30 Aug. 2019 The images show laughter as well as anger and despair. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "At San Diego Museum of Art, snapshots of ‘Black Life’," 18 Aug. 2019 Until then, microfinance will be a cause not for hope but for despair. — The Economist, "Microfinance is driving many Sri Lankan borrowers to despair," 15 Aug. 2019 Violence, disease and despair are common there, and food, medicine — and sometimes even clean water — are scarce. — Keerthana Annamaneni, New York Times, "For ISIS Children, Returning Home to Europe Meets Resistance," 15 Aug. 2019 Lost in the president’s Twitter missives is that Baltimore, in more recent history, has been at the forefront of attempts to unwind deeply rooted patterns of housing segregation that have led to poverty, disinvestment and despair. — Danielle Ohl, ProPublica, "Trump Called Baltimore “Vermin Infested” While the Federal Government Fails to Clean Up Rodents in Subsidized Housing," 14 Aug. 2019 The story finds the crippled Annie (Lizzie Boys) in deep despair and forced into submission by nurse Broadfield (Daphne Zuniga). — Chuck Barney, Detroit Free Press, "TV highlights for the week of Aug. 11-17," 9 Aug. 2019 In the midst of his suffering and despair, Job would not — could not — deny that through it all, God is good. — The Rev. Bill Thomas, baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll, "Thomas: God turns life’s tragedies, disappointments into something eternally good," 3 Aug. 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
Alone and unable to work, Boylan despaired and made plans for suicide. — David Armstrong, ProPublica, "In Men, It’s Parkinson’s. In Women, It’s Hysteria.," 23 Aug. 2019 Their adventures read like something out of a Daniel Defoe novel, set in American mountains and forests so thickly overgrown that almost anyone would have despaired of finding a way through them. — Colin Fleming, Washington Post, "The books to read to get you into the Fourth of July spirit," 3 July 2019 The broadcast networks, which, overrun by reality shows, had begun despairing of the hourlong drama, took heart and picked up their game. — Los Angeles Times, "Column: From ‘Mad Men’ to zombie spinoffs: AMC has been trampled by its own revolution," 25 July 2019 Classical depictions of Hyacinth’s death typically show his exquisite, lifeless corpse held gently in despairing Apollo’s arms. — Christopher Knight, latimes.com, "MOCA on the rebound? Three strong shows and free entry are welcome signs of change," 12 June 2019 Other politicians despair at the dynastic state of affairs. — Olivia Goldhill, Quartz, "Brazil’s nominated US ambassador spends his days with a gun-toting Trump figurine," 13 July 2019 Kensky, who lost both legs after the Boston Marathon bombing, despaired until Rescue, a service dog, arrived to help her navigate life with prosthetics. — Maria Russo, New York Times, "Enchanting New Picture Books," 11 May 2018 Several weeks ago, Cave responded to a father of three boys from Australia who despaired about the future. — Daniel Burke, CNN, "A rock star was asked what God's voice sounds like. His answer is beautiful," 29 June 2019 The ball flew over the despairing Rowe and into the back of the net, giving Rooney his tenth goal of the season as D.C. went on to secure the victory. — SI.com, "Wayne Rooney Rolls Back the Years After Scoring Incredible Goal From Own Half," 27 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'despair.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for despair
despair
noun
English Language Learners Definition of despair
(Entry 1 of 2)
: the feeling of no longer having any hope
: someone or something that causes extreme sadness or worry
despair
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of despair (Entry 2 of 2)
: to no longer have any hope or belief that a situation will improve or change
See the full definition for despair in the English Language Learners Dictionary