1
as in hopeless
emphasizing or expecting the worst
despairing predictions regarding the effects of global overpopulation
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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
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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
Guy Lodge, Variety, 28 May 2025
That same investigation may find the veteran was despairing, had just gone through a divorce or something along those lines.
—Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 24 May 2025
Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 19 Oct. 2024
Meme-makers across America are despairing right now.
—Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for despairing
Adjective
The arc of the subject’s life is evoked through steadily darkening, tightening mood, with certain scenes and setups replicated to variously despairing effect, from tacitly shifting points of view.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 28 May 2025
That same investigation may find the veteran was despairing, had just gone through a divorce or something along those lines.
—Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 24 May 2025
Verb
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
Meme-makers across America are despairing right now.
—Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for despairing
Recent Examples of Synonyms for despairing
Adjective
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Things take a turn for the whimsical when, with the help of some lightning — and later, Taffy’s tanning bed — Lisa finds a companion in an undead, Victorian-era Cole Sprouse, a hopeless romantic who communicates exclusively in grunts, and whose devotion to Lisa knows no bounds.—
Bailey Richards,
PEOPLE,
31 Oct. 2025
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The Jets are hopeless, with head coach Aaron Glenn pushing back on reporters weekly and owner Woody Johnson tossing his $40 million quarterback, Justin Fields, under the bus after another rough outing.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
25 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Britain ultimately lost not only because of Washington’s extraordinary tenacity in the war’s several mainland theaters, but also because the king’s men had to stage long sieges, wage desperate naval battles, and take mounting casualties on too many other fronts spread too far apart.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
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Congress needs to go back in session because DC reporters are bored and desperate.—
Khaleda Rahman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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However, the tale of a grieving husband and father quickly unraveled as Murdaugh’s laundry list of financial crimes – and elaborate cover-up schemes – against his legal clients came to light.—
Julia Bonavita,
FOXNews.com,
5 Nov. 2025
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One skipped school day exposes the fractures of a family grieving in silence and the contradictions of love that shape her girlhood.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The shootout in the finale felt ripped from another (lesser) series, Sarah Catherine Hook’s monologue as Piper, now wanting to wash Thailand off her, just a bit of a pat cheat (and a more cynical White on display).—
Christian Zilko,
IndieWire,
7 Jan. 2026
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Yes, our political leaders have given some of us reason to be resentful, cynical and even depressed.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Pauline Collins, the exuberant British actress who inspired women — and men, too — to do something to change their unhappy lives with her Oscar-nominated and Olivier- and Tony-winning performances in Shirley Valentine, has died.—
Lisa de los Reyes,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Nov. 2025
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That distaste didn’t hurt Spanberger and her ticket, because 18% of those unhappy voters backed her anyway.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The team labored in home losses to Houston and the Los Angeles Chargers, with Mahomes ultimately suffering a season-ending ACL injury in the fourth quarter of that setback against the Chargers.—
Jesse Newell,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
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And even amid his film’s despair, there was also dark humor, his characters’ profound suffering wryly relatable to all of us watching them in the theater.—
Tim Grierson,
Rolling Stone,
6 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Everyone's a little sad in The Holdovers, Alexander Payne's charmingly sour comedy about a student stuck at his New England boarding school over the holidays with only his grouchy professor (Paul Giamatti) and the school cook (Da'Vine Joy Randolph) for company.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 Nov. 2025
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The 25-year-old wide receiver is sad to see his teammates go, but trusts the vision of the New York front office.—
Matt Audilet,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Some people, friendship researchers told me, could be mourning a version of friendship that exists predominantly on social media and TV.—
Jenny Singer,
The Atlantic,
7 Jan. 2026
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The Twiggs County community is mourning the loss of one of its beloved elementary school teachers.—
Dan Raby,
CBS News,
7 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Despairing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/despairing. Accessed 9 Jan. 2026.
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