1
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
2
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
as in grieving
to lose all hope or confidence
we despaired when we saw how little time we had left to complete our project
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of despairing
Cora Engelbrecht,
New Yorker,
3 Apr. 2026
Premiering the first of eight episodes on Sunday, March 22, The Comeback’s shaggy, despairing, hilarious, and sometimes baldly sentimental third season spends its first two episodes running through all the horsemen of the Hollywood-pocalypse.
—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
20 Mar. 2026
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
31 Dec. 2025
These are the people who, despairing of finding their way out honestly, simply smash and bash their way through the corn willy-nilly.
—
Tribune News Service,
The Mercury News,
19 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for despairing
Adjective
Rebin carries a despairing sense of hope in him, months later.
—
Cora Engelbrecht,
New Yorker,
3 Apr. 2026
Premiering the first of eight episodes on Sunday, March 22, The Comeback’s shaggy, despairing, hilarious, and sometimes baldly sentimental third season spends its first two episodes running through all the horsemen of the Hollywood-pocalypse.
—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
20 Mar. 2026
Verb
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
These are the people who, despairing of finding their way out honestly, simply smash and bash their way through the corn willy-nilly.
—
Tribune News Service,
The Mercury News,
19 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for despairing
Recent Examples of Synonyms for despairing
Adjective
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The conflict feels contemporary without growing too cynical, and the core relationship stakes seem real without skewing hopeless.
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The situation of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank would almost certainly worsen and become more hopeless.
Adjective
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Today, the predicament is exacerbated by the fact developers tend to avoid these areas, leaving very low-income households in desperate need of family-sized, affordable rental apartments.
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The justices split over whether this was a simple dispute over legal wording or a moral question involving desperate families.
Verb
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Scammers look for grieving spouses, newly single homeowners and families dealing with estate paperwork.
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It’s set in a recognizably near-future, where a grieving couple who have recently lost their son in a tragic accident decides to adopt a humanoid child — one that looks and sounds the same as their dead child.
Adjective
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Traditionally cynical and perceptive commentators—not to mention a lot of tired citizens—found themselves, in some accounts, overcome by an unexpected wave of patriotic sentimentality that washed away, at least for a moment, their gnawing doubts.
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Heston is at his most gleefully cynical as Robert Thorn, a police detective who lives and works in a New York City decimated by environmental deterioration and dwindling resources.
Adjective
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Isdin Melatonik If traditional retinoids have left your sensitive skin unhappy, Isdin's Melatonik Recovery Night Serum offers a gentler approach with bakuchiol.
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Brown and the Celtics have both since denied speculation that the 29-year-old second-team All-NBA selection was unhappy with his role in Boston.
Verb
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Asthma is a common condition, with around 8% of people in the United States – or 28 million people – suffering from it, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA).
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Despite baseball's highest payroll, the Mets are in last place with a 34-47 record, suffering a recent six-game losing streak where they were outscored 54-22 and committed numerous errors.
Adjective
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Then Greene takes a long, sad subway ride home, and America learns that one of their favorite TV doctors isn't flawless.
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Local foodies were sad to hear owner Sylvia Chung (Momma Chung) retired and closed the south Fort Worth restaurant in October of last year.
Verb
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The State of Colorado is mourning this tremendous loss alongside everyone who was impacted by Lynn.
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He, like the objects, is stuck between here and the hereafter, and is mourning a lost love just as a new one introduces herself.
Cite this Entry
“Despairing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/despairing. Accessed 28 Jun. 2026.
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