as in despondently
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
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 despairingly
O’Farrell’s words skip lightly on some pages, then pace with anxiety, then finally trudge along despairingly.
—
The Know, Denver Post, 31 Aug. 2025
The Know, Denver Post, 31 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for despairingly
Adverb
-
Semi-autobiographical in one sense and despondently poetic in the other, The Stranger launched Camus’ career as a major 20th century author.—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
2 Sep. 2025
Adverb
-
Now, the 36-year-old grower, who inherited the generational plot from his father, can only wave his arm dejectedly at row after row of weak, spindly stems, the result of catastrophic floods that swept the South Asian nation’s agricultural heartland to a degree not experienced in three decades.—
Jasmin Malik Chua,
Sourcing Journal,
7 Oct. 2025
-
Immediately after his defeat, Medvedev violently smashed a racket in frustration and sat dejectedly on his chair for several minutes before leaving the court.—
Manasi Pathak,
Forbes.com,
28 Aug. 2025
Adverb
-
The play unfolds as a series of battles, where the unaccomplished George and the bitterly disappointed Martha exchange vicious and demeaning insults, using Nick and Honey as the unsuspecting pawns in their war for supremacy.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 Mar. 2026
-
East Coast finally welcomes the warmth The East Coast is finally seeing some warm weather after a bitterly cold winter.—
Kathryn Prociv,
NBC news,
9 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
For their part, Democratic leaders spoke mournfully of limits, of energy shortages, of national decline, of a crisis of confidence itself.—
Rosa Lyster,
Harpers Magazine,
30 Dec. 2025
-
Based on the Dylan Thomas prose poem of the same name, published in 1952, the film lovingly and mournfully depicts the boyhood Christmastime of an old Welshman, tenderly and a tad mischievously embodied by Elliott.—
Sheldon Pearce,
New Yorker,
21 Nov. 2025
Adverb
-
Tarun would tease her, and my mother would look sorrowfully toward Kavitha, as if the two of them now shared some womanly burden.—
Madhuri Vijay,
New Yorker,
16 Nov. 2025
Adverb
-
The video of Hodges crying out plaintively is the antithesis of how a cop wants to be seen.—
Jamie Thompson,
The Atlantic,
6 Jan. 2026
-
Mia plaintively asks Philip at one particularly vulnerable moment.—
Frank Scheck,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Sep. 2019
Adverb
-
There’s ample gore and jumpy moments, but the true scariness here is of the forlorn kind; leads Joe Bird and Stacy Clausen play the mounting nightmare with ache and desperation, elevating the emotional tenor of a dolefully eerie movie.—
Richard Lawson,
HollywoodReporter,
31 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
Defying the line in the play where Robert Shaw ruefully hopes none of his children will become actors, Ian Shaw is a veteran stage, film and TV performer, mostly taking smaller parts in the United Kingdom.—
Christopher Smith,
Oc Register,
10 Mar. 2026
-
This last comment came from a fellow traveler, ruefully disclosing an act of self-defense many years ago.—
Tribune News Service,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Despairingly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/despairingly. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
