DESPONDENT Synonyms: 175 Similar and Opposite Words

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

Some common synonyms of despondent are despairing , desperate , and hopeless . While all these words mean "having lost all or nearly all hope," despondent implies a deep dejection arising from a conviction of the uselessness of further effort. // despondent about yet another rejection

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

The words despairing and despondent can be used in similar contexts, but despairing suggests the slipping away of all hope and often despondency. // despairing appeals for the return of the kidnapped child

Q: When would 'desperate' be a good substitute for 'despondent'?

The synonyms desperate and despondent are sometimes interchangeable, but 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: In what contexts can 'hopeless' take the place of 'despondent'?

While in some cases nearly identical to despondent , hopeless suggests despair and the cessation of effort or resistance and often implies acceptance or resignation. // the situation of the trapped miners is hopeless

despondent

adjective

di-ˈspän-dənt

Definition of despondent

as in desperate

feeling or showing no hope after four days and still no word that the missing plane had been located, the relatives were despondent

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in depressed

feeling unhappiness feeling despondent over the death of another close friend

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective despondent differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of despondent are despairing, desperate, and hopeless. While all these words mean "having lost all or nearly all hope," despondent implies a deep dejection arising from a conviction of the uselessness of further effort.

despondent about yet another rejection

Where would despairing be a reasonable alternative to despondent?

The words despairing and despondent can be used in similar contexts, but despairing suggests the slipping away of all hope and often despondency.

despairing appeals for the return of the kidnapped child

When would desperate be a good substitute for despondent?

The synonyms desperate and despondent are sometimes interchangeable, but 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

In what contexts can hopeless take the place of despondent?

While in some cases nearly identical to despondent, 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 despondent People might become despondent that AI is ultimately going to be our end. — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026 Even loyalists complain about the mounting restrictions and repression, and once-upbeat businesspeople are now despondent. — Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2026 At 11, despondent over the course of her young life, Cox attempted suicide by swallowing all of her mother’s pills. — Lizzie Hyman, PEOPLE, 28 May 2026 This is patient, observant storytelling, with brilliant casting choices (casting director Nina Gold) and performances that speak volumes about how the characters have changed over the decades — the jump from a buoyant Toheeb Jimoh to a despondent David Oyelowo is particularly heartbreaking. — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 25 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for despondent

Recent Examples of Synonyms for despondent

Adjective

El Sayed’s campaign characterized Peters’s endorsement as a sign that Stevens’s campaign is desperate.

— David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 13 July 2026
Croatia’s World Cup was seconds away from being over and Portugal was seconds away from the round of 16 when Ivan Perisic sent a long, desperate cross into the penalty area.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2026

Definition of desperate

Adjective

The pseudonymous title character, a depressed, drunken, belligerent twenty-six-year-old advice columnist, has no real hardships of his own and is cursed by doubt.

— Hannah Jocelyn, New Yorker, 1 July 2026
Supergirl is a story about a depressed, super-powered woman who is pulled out of her bar-hopping to help other people and find her purpose.

— Tiffany Kelly, Entertainment Weekly, 30 June 2026

Definition of depressed

Adjective

Michael Johnston plays Bear, a music store employee who has a hopeless crush on his co-worker Nikki.

— Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 11 July 2026
Waymo’s fleet of autonomous taxis has garnered a reputation for causing mayhem on public streets, from trapping drivers in hours of hopeless gridlock to driving into oncoming traffic.

— Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 8 July 2026

Definition of hopeless

Adjective

Brigitte Bardot, a very unhappy wife, is the Penelope stand-in.

— Stephen Schaefer, Boston Herald, 14 July 2026
Given the players’ high-profile status, there is a giant spotlight on the process, with plenty of unhappy fans questioning why the SEC determined both moves were made for athletic purposes.

— Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 13 July 2026

Definition of unhappy

Adjective

Nostalgic, proud and, yeah, a little sad too, that the decade-long journey of making Stranger Things has come to an end.

— Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 15 July 2026
In the comments, fans expressed conflicted feelings about the ride’s closure, with some excited for the new version and others sad to hear the original Kumba ride will soon be no more.

— Natalia Senanayake, PEOPLE, 15 July 2026

Definition of sad

Adjective

Smashed with the instep of Mbappe’s right foot, the ball arced viciously into the top-right corner, beyond Bounou’s despairing dive.

— Amy Lawrence, New York Times, 9 July 2026
After 25 years, you'd be forgiven for thinking — despairing, really — that the formula for a perfect Scary Movie has been forgotten.

— Entertainment Weekly, Entertainment Weekly, 2 June 2026

Definition of despairing

Adjective

Their findings, some previously covered in Fortune, draw on a deep dataset spanning dozens of countries to confirm that ill-being is no longer hump-shaped in age — the young are now the most miserable cohort globally.

— Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 6 July 2026
Aguirre’s red card against West Germany in 1986 started a miserable run for Mexico.

— Colin Millar, New York Times, 4 July 2026

Definition of miserable

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“Despondent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/despondent. Accessed 18 Jul. 2026.

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