despondent

adjective

de·​spon·​dent di-ˈspän-dənt 

: feeling or showing extreme discouragement, dejection, or depression

despondent about his health

despondently adverb

Synonyms

• despairing
• desperate
• forlorn
• hopeless

Choose the Right Synonym for despondent

despondent, despairing, desperate, hopeless mean having lost all or nearly all hope.

despondent implies a deep dejection arising from a conviction of the uselessness of further effort.

despondent about yet another rejection

despairing suggests the slipping away of all hope and often despondency.

despairing appeals for the return of the kidnapped child

desperate implies despair that prompts reckless action or violence in the face of defeat or frustration.

one last desperate attempt to turn the tide of battle

hopeless suggests despair and the cessation of effort or resistance and often implies acceptance or resignation.

the situation of the trapped miners is hopeless

Examples of despondent in a Sentence

His colleagues did not care for his despondent company, which made him suffer more, which perpetuated their distance … —Noah Charney, The Art Thief, 2007

The Simpsons' plots are a bit more sophisticated than their Saturday morning counterparts and are occasionally tinged with pathos—as when Homer loses his job at the nuclear-power plant and becomes despondent and even suicidal. —Jerry Lazar, TV Guide, 13 Jan. 1990

Writers who spend much time in universities are likely to grow despondent over the future of literature, for there it is treated as a finished thing. —Louis Simpson, New York Times Book Review, 21 Nov. 1982

I had never seen them looking so despondent.

a group of despondent fans

Recent Examples on the Web

Carey is despondent and gets out of the car, walking all the way to Julie and Paul’s through swampy water as the titles play over Dabney Morris and David Wingo’s jaunty score. —Esther Zuckerman, IndieWire, 19 May 2025

One half of Wembley was despondent and increasingly empty. —Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2025

Most of his teammates had departed for the buses, leaving behind an empty, despondent locker room. —Kelly Iko, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2025

James Austin Johnson played a despondent President Donald Trump, akin to Jason Isaacs' Timothy Ratliff, as Chloe Fineman took on Parker Posey's show accent to play Melania Trump. —Jillian Sederholm, EW.com, 13 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin despondent-, despondens, present participle of despondēre

First Known Use

circa 1699, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for despondent

• respondent
• correspondent
• fondant

Kids Definition

despondent

adjective

de·​spond·​ent

di-ˈspän-dənt

: feeling quite discouraged or depressed : being in very low spirits

despondently adverb