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despond 1 of 2

noun

Definition of despondnext
1
as in sadness
a state or spell of low spirits he sank into a crushing despond after his wife left him

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in despair
utter loss of hope loss of his job threw him into a deep despond

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

despond

2 of 2

verb

di-ˈspänd How to pronounce despond (audio)
as in to despair
to lose all hope or confidence we must not despond even though we live in trying times

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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 despond
Noun
Lonely and addicted to her social media feeds, Selena plunged into a deep despond and filmed her death-by-overdose on Snap. — Paul Solotaroff, Rolling Stone, 17 June 2024 The slough of Mardenborough's despond comes towards the end of the film when a crash at the Nürburgring results in the death of a spectator. — Elana Scherr, Car and Driver, 11 Aug. 2023 Animal spirits might buoy up markets again, or investors might sink back into the sort of despond that ended 2015, but sentiment currently offers little guide. — James MacKintosh, WSJ, 20 Dec. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for despond
  1. sadness
  2. despair
  3. depression
  4. desperation
  5. melancholy
  6. sorrow
  7. gloom
  8. mournfulness
Noun
  • This year's report finds that levels of persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness among high schoolers have fallen in recent years – from 42% in 2021, to 40% in 2023 and 33% in 2025.
    — Rhitu Chatterjee, NPR, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Scott is tremendous and tragic in the film, maybe more so in its moments of dark humor than in its final beats of near operatic sadness.
    — Joe Reid, Vulture, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of sadness
Noun
  • If there’s plenty to despair about in Krux, Vahl also shows how all is not totally lost.
    — Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 23 Sep. 2026
  • His life moved from pain to promise, despair to hope, and perhaps as humanly possible, from sinner to saint.
    — Steven D. Reske, Chicago Tribune, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of despair
Noun
  • Proponents say that in its pure form, kratom is a safe, natural herbal supplement that can help manage pain, anxiety and depression and ease the effects of opioid withdrawal.
    — Sudhin Thanawala, Chicago Tribune, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Meanwhile, odds are high for an area of low pressure off the western coast of Africa to become tropical depression.
    — Robin Webb, Sun Sentinel, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of depression
Noun
  • What new extremes of desperation will working artists sink to in this economy?
    — Kat Chen, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Sep. 2026
  • As with all of our best and worst inventions, its motive has always been desperation.
    — Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of desperation
Noun
  • The question for me is whether or not Lloyd will also manage to capture the melancholy of a deceptively serious play, notwithstanding its reputation.
    — Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 23 Sep. 2026
  • On the one hand, there’s a fascination with collective joy and the forms of vernacular invention that aspire to it; on the other, there’s an underlying melancholy that points to the inevitability of isolation, an epistemology of loneliness.
    — Pablo Larios, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of melancholy
Noun
  • With her toadstool-like jet-black perm and dark red lipstick, Haru is a striking presence, the sensuousness of her moves conveying both longing and sorrow.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Oakley and Reid lean so heavily into Elinor and Marianne’s crushing disappointments and the forces holding them back in a period of vast gender inequity, that their sorrows shove the characters’ more captivating qualities to the side.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of sorrow
Noun
  • They are finally revealed as the head-lamps of a gang of thieves, robbing a church, caught closer up, their faces occasionally emerging from the gloom.
    — John Hopewell, Variety, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Inside, we were whisked away to a world of rain and candles and velvet and creepy houses and stormy, witchy gloom.
    — Danielle Pergament, Allure, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of gloom
Noun
  • Power Ballad should be breezy and fun, with that twist of mournfulness that Carney is always so adept at pulling off.
    — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 29 May 2026
Definition of mournfulness

Phrases Containing despond

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despoliations
despond
desponded
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Cite this Entry

“Despond.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/despond. Accessed 1 Oct. 2026.

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