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
Beyond the portrait of workers fighting against big corporations, on a deeper level, her intention was to explore group dynamics, the individuals’ commitment to each other and to the cause, as a way to combat despair and frailty. Annika Pham, Variety, 22 Mar. 2024 The show begins in 1966, with a young astrophysicist named Ye Wenjie (Zine Tseng) watching in despair as her father — also a physicist — is beaten to death by Red Guards during the Chinese Communist Revolution. Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 21 Mar. 2024 See all Example Sentences for despair 

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 29 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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!