despair

1 of 2

noun

de·​spair di-ˈsper How to pronounce despair (audio)
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

2 of 2

verb

despaired; despairing; despairs

intransitive verb

: to lose all hope or confidence
despair of winning

transitive verb

obsolete : to lose hope for
despairer noun

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
Sonal falls ill again and in despair, she unravels Kirti’s mystery and is compelled to reflect on her connection to the past and the future. Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 11 Mar. 2024 The concept of sublimated despair is a pillar of contemporary television, but the show’s surrealism is fresh and surprising — made even more so by the sense of creeping sameness of so many other shows right now. Margaret Lyons, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2024 Berger’s dream flashes present scenarios where hope and despair don’t merely amuse. Armond White, National Review, 6 Mar. 2024 Ordinary Iranians signaled their despair at a miserable economy, their anger over the repression of landmark protests in 2022, and their cynicism about a regime that disqualified myriad candidates who were not in Khamenei’s hard-line camp from contesting seats. Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 3 Mar. 2024 With high levels of cortisol in our bloodstream, falling down the rabbit hole of despair can feel inevitable. Frayda Leibtag, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 Despite the existential quality of our conversations—the frequency with which doubt, despair, and the threat of meaninglessness came up—Foster is consistently described by the people who work with her as lively and exuberant. Jordan Kisner, The Atlantic, 18 Feb. 2024 Amidst the despair, a crucial lesson emerges—a lesson that emphasizes the importance of early intervention. Sponsored Content, The Mercury News, 28 Feb. 2024 The German adaptation, which stars Katja Riemann und Hannah Schiller, focuses on a family that is plunged into despair by the suicide of their daughter. Ed Meza, Variety, 20 Feb. 2024
Verb
The author of Sunbeams, Joseph Wulf, jumped out of a window to his death in 1974, despairing over the lack of interest in his life’s work of bringing Nazi war crimes to light. Hazlitt, 6 Mar. 2024 Don’t despair: The research firm still thinks that probably means mid-June. Paul Davidson, USA TODAY, 3 Mar. 2024 Don’t despair if there’s nothing left—eclipse chasers tend to book lots of rooms to cancel later, so there’s a good chance of rooms becoming available in the few days before the eclipse. Jamie Carter, Forbes, 10 Feb. 2024 Most people would despair over having just one shoe from a pair, but the owner of the Dynasty Collection must be feeling pretty happy with that outcome. Tori Latham, Robb Report, 2 Feb. 2024 Don’t despair if your slices look more ... free-form. Bonnie Berkowitz, Washington Post, 19 Jan. 2024 Renewable-energy installation has been increasing all decade, but so has fossil-fuel production, leading some to despair that clean energy would never truly undercut coal, oil, and gas. Bill McKibben, The New Yorker, 12 Dec. 2023 With a growing family — the couple eventually had seven children — Mr. Ackland despaired of making a career in acting. Clay Risen, New York Times, 22 Nov. 2023 As a result, conservatives who have celebrated many of the changes Musk instituted at Twitter — such as the reinstatement of many accounts banned for hate speech and misinformation — despaired at this latest decision. Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 12 May 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'despair.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English despeir, despair, borrowed from Anglo-French despeir, despoir, noun derivative of desperer (tonic stem despeir-) "to lose hope or confidence, despair entry 2"

Verb

Middle English despeiren, despairen, dispairen "to lose hope or confidence, be discouraged," borrowed from Anglo-French despeir-, tonic stem of desperer, going back to Latin dēspērāre "to give up as hopeless, despair of," from dē- de- + spērāre "to look forward to, hope for, hope (that)," verbal derivative of *spēs-, presumed alternate stem of spēs, spem "hope, expectation" perhaps by analogy with vīr-, vīs "strength, force" — more at speed entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of despair was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near despair

Cite this Entry

“Despair.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/despair. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

despair

1 of 2 verb
de·​spair di-ˈspa(ə)r How to pronounce despair (audio)
-ˈspe(ə)r
: to lose all hope or confidence
despair of winning

despair

2 of 2 noun
1
: utter loss of hope : feeling of complete hopelessness
2
: a cause of hopelessness

More from Merriam-Webster on despair

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