DESPAIRING Synonyms: 168 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How does the adjective 'despairing' differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of despairing are desperate , despondent , and hopeless . While all these words mean "having lost all or nearly all hope," despairing suggests the slipping away of all hope and often despondency. // despairing appeals for the return of the kidnapped child

Q: When is it sensible to use 'desperate' instead of 'despairing'?

While the synonyms desperate and despairing 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

Q: When might 'despondent' be a better fit than 'despairing'?

While in some cases nearly identical to despairing , despondent implies a deep dejection arising from a conviction of the uselessness of further effort. // despondent about yet another rejection

Q: Where would 'hopeless' be a reasonable alternative to 'despairing'?

The synonyms hopeless and despairing are sometimes interchangeable, but hopeless suggests despair and the cessation of effort or resistance and often implies acceptance or resignation. // the situation of the trapped miners is hopeless

despairing 1 of 2

adjective

di-ˈsper-iŋ

Definition of despairing

as in hopeless

emphasizing or expecting the worst despairing predictions regarding the effects of global overpopulation

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in desperate

feeling or showing no hope despairing applicants need to be reminded that most students are eventually accepted somewhere

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

despairing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of despair

as in grieving

to lose all hope or confidence we despaired when we saw how little time we had left to complete our project

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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How does the adjective despairing differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of despairing are desperate, despondent, and hopeless. While all these words mean "having lost all or nearly all hope," despairing suggests the slipping away of all hope and often despondency.

despairing appeals for the return of the kidnapped child

When is it sensible to use desperate instead of despairing?

While the synonyms desperate and despairing 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 might despondent be a better fit than despairing?

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

despondent about yet another rejection

Where would hopeless be a reasonable alternative to despairing?

The synonyms hopeless and despairing are sometimes interchangeable, but hopeless suggests despair and the cessation of effort or resistance and often implies acceptance or resignation.

the situation of the trapped miners is hopeless

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 despairing

Adjective

Irony doesn’t have to be nihilistic or despairing. — Aaron Matz, The New York Review of Books, 4 Apr. 2026 Rebin carries a despairing sense of hope in him, months later. — Cora Engelbrecht, New Yorker, 3 Apr. 2026

Verb

Those ‘boys’ are in their late forties and fifties now — a comforting reminder, to parents who may be despairing about enduring another entry in this franchise, that all children eventually grow up. — Caspar Salmon, Variety, 7 Aug. 2026 The book’s tone shifts from philosophical to playful to despairing to sensual, and on around again. — The New Yorker, New Yorker, 31 Dec. 2025 See All Example Sentences for despairing

Recent Examples of Synonyms for despairing

Adjective

Johnston, who made his breakout performance as the toxically hopeless romantic Bear in Curry Barker’s Obsession, has most recently been in talks to join Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz in the upcoming fourth installment of The Mummy.

— Glenn Garner, Deadline, 7 Oct. 2026
For all the apocalyptic overtones in the film, Gibney doesn’t want audiences to come away feeling hopeless.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of hopeless

Adjective

The search Later that day, with no trace of the team, Thomson and Gordon — the two security advisers in Kyiv — began a desperate search.

— David Folkenflik, NPR, 4 Oct. 2026
Namely, a desperate need for pitching reinforcements and a belief that Holmes’ profile would mesh with their Gold Glove infielders.

— Patrick Mooney, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of desperate

Verb

Shane Thomson, the high-risk security adviser who warned Hall, Zakrzewski and Kuvshynova not to go beyond the Kyiv city limits, joined the grieving parents in their lawsuit against Fox and Hall.

— David Folkenflik, NPR, 4 Oct. 2026
Her unexpected passing has left fans around the world grieving.

— Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of grieving

Adjective

Swarup’s book exposes the cynical nature of the quiz show, dangling a literal lifeline to desperate people for the sake of entertainment.

— L.M. Chilton, PEOPLE, 26 Sep. 2026
Myriad people inside Warner Bros are cynical about the capping of severances and the fact that only a few at the top are bound for a post-merger windfall.

— Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 23 Sep. 2026

Definition of cynical

Adjective

Its success made Cohn a rich, if unhappy, man, at least for a long while.

— Lily Moayeri, SPIN, 6 Oct. 2026
What appeared to be a fairly normal election for a president halfway through his term — a probable setback, as unhappy voters register their discontent — has the potential, Cook said, to turn into a disaster for Republicans.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of unhappy

Verb

Carla is suffering through a press junket for a new spy movie titled The Milliner with her obnoxious co-star, Jeremy (Aaron Tsindos).

— Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2026
The leading hypothesis is that the whale calves are suffering infections from marine bacteria that can enter their bodies through injuries inflicted by kelp gulls, Uhart said.

— ABC News, ABC News, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of suffering

Adjective

Spark, a writer of the first rank, brought her beautifully to life in this moving, rather sad novel of Edinburgh in the 1930s.

— The Week US, TheWeek, 5 Oct. 2026
And yet the allegation against her now enters Orange County’s long, sad spectrum of anti-Mexican political history.

— Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of sad

Verb

As federal investigators try to determine the cause of the crash, island residents are mourning the dead and confronting the trade-offs of life so isolated from the rest of Southern California.

— Fedor Zarkhin, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2026
New England Patriots rookie Eli Raridon in mourning the death of his newborn son.

— Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of mourning

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“Despairing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/despairing. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

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