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Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective hopeless differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of hopeless are despairing, desperate, and despondent. While all these words mean "having lost all or nearly all hope," hopeless suggests despair and the cessation of effort or resistance and often implies acceptance or resignation.

the situation of the trapped miners is hopeless

When is despairing a more appropriate choice than hopeless?

The meanings of despairing and hopeless largely overlap; however, despairing suggests the slipping away of all hope and often despondency.

despairing appeals for the return of the kidnapped child

In what contexts can desperate take the place of hopeless?

While the synonyms desperate and hopeless are close in meaning, 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

When can despondent be used instead of hopeless?

While in some cases nearly identical to hopeless, despondent implies a deep dejection arising from a conviction of the uselessness of further effort.

despondent about yet another rejection

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hopeless Showing such unwavering and hopeless devotion? Stephanie McNeal, Glamour, 18 Sep. 2025 Told through the eyes of a group of Spartans sent into the meat grinder to deal with an unstoppable alien invasion, The Fall of Reach is a much more desperate, hopeless affair. Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 15 Sep. 2025 This — the blanket perception of all-is-hopeless-and-fire-everybody — was the weight this win needed to help lift. Miami Herald, 14 Sep. 2025 Nearly half of them reported feeling down, depressed or hopeless and experiencing sleep disturbances. Alexis Kayser, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for hopeless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hopeless
Adjective
  • Doctors quickly diagnosed Shinae with a cancerous astrocytoma, and told her that it was considered incurable because of where it's located in her brain.
    Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 20 Sep. 2025
  • Currently, the first dose is given within 24 hours of birth because hepatitis B — an incurable infection that can lead to liver disease, cancer and death — can be transmitted from mother to child during delivery.
    Aria Bendix, NBC news, 19 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Because, in fact, I am usually immediately swayed by whatever intellectual fashion is in the air, and a first draft of any essay is more often than not a cynical and dutiful rehashing of the argument du jour.
    Zadie Smith, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
  • Now, some naysayers may argue that this administration's speech concerns are merely a cynical ploy.
    Anthony Robledo, USA Today, 19 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • The team that inhabits it is often called inevitable — immune to pressure and impossible to put away.
    Chandler Rome, New York Times, 21 Sep. 2025
  • In September of this year, impossible homework posts began making the rounds again as children returned to school.
    Rachael O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Their fight for freedom takes them across three continents in a desperate bid to live authentically and without fear.
    Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 25 Sep. 2025
  • When Klara ends up in the local hospital’s anorexic ward, David and Laura must resort to even more desperate measures, which paradoxically help thaw out their own emotional cold war.
    Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 25 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Exhausted and despairing, many Palestinians had their own reasons for refusing to pack up and uproot themselves again.
    WAFAA SHURAFA, Arkansas Online, 7 Sep. 2025
  • People are despairing over the Supreme Court and its deference to the president.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 4 July 2025
Adjective
  • Is this a deeply sad, award-winning tearjerker of a drama?
    James Factora, Them., 26 Sep. 2025
  • The schism that developed between Ric and Ben is a very sad part of the story.
    Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 26 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • The Magellan poll found that 54% of voters anticipate the economy will decline in the next 12 months (with more Democrats expressing this fear than Republicans), a pessimistic view that requires our politicians to articulate a plan for the worst-case scenario.
    The Denver Post Editorial Board, Denver Post, 16 Sep. 2025
  • However the panel was pessimistic about the time frame for change, considering the EU’s bureaucratic structure.
    Rhonda Richford, Footwear News, 16 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Roseanne Barr is unhappy that Jimmy Kimmel is back on the air.
    Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Sep. 2025
  • There is a form of right-of-center liberalism that is content with status hierarchies, that is very unhappy with anything that makes people feel reprimanded.
    Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 23 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Hopeless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hopeless. Accessed 28 Sep. 2025.

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