Synonyms of despondent

despondent

adjective

di-ˈspän-dənt 

1

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

• desperate
• hopeless
• unhappy
• sad
• despairing
• disappointed
• depressed
• mournful
• heartbroken
• forlorn
• cynical
• bleak
• melancholy
• dark
• dejected
• depressing
• dispirited
• accepting
• crestfallen
• discouraged
• disconsolate
• downcast
• miserable
• sorrowful
• glum
• heartsick
• disheartened
• woebegone
• gloomy
• doleful
• inconsolable
• joyless
• grieving
• weeping
• resigned
• sorry
• saddened
• hangdog
• downhearted
• blue
• abject
• brokenhearted
• woeful
• wailing
• cheerless
• wretched
• desolate
• low-spirited
• pessimistic
• low
• down
• heartsore
• funereal
• dismal
• dreary
• comfortless
• drear

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• hopeful
• optimistic
• exultant
• ecstatic
• exuberant
• euphoric
• enraptured
• merry
• jovial
• jolly
• elated
• mirthful
• exhilarated
• gay
• blithe
• lively
• entranced
• encouraged
• happy
• jubilant
• cheerful
• perky
• joyful
• joyous
• jocund
• sprightly
• glad
• vivacious
• animated
• buoyant
• jaunty
• upbeat
• gleeful
• cheery
• blissful
• blithesome
• delighted
• heartened
• lightsome
• chipper
• sunny
• gladdened
• gladsome
• sprightful

2

as in depressed

feeling unhappiness

feeling despondent over the death of another close friend

Synonyms & Similar Words

• depressed
• unhappy
• sad
• heartbroken
• miserable
• melancholy
• sorry
• worried
• upset
• bad
• dejected
• hopeless
• sorrowful
• disappointed
• crestfallen
• disconsolate
• mournful
• uneasy
• downcast
• glum
• heartsick
• melancholic
• troubled
• forlorn
• woebegone
• gloomy
• doleful
• inconsolable
• joyless
• saddened
• hangdog
• downhearted
• distressed
• brokenhearted
• suicidal
• depressing
• droopy
• wretched
• woeful
• blue
• discouraged
• low-spirited
• down
• despairing
• heavyhearted
• heartsore
• dispirited
• down in the mouth
• aggrieved
• grieving
• low
• disheartened
• tearful
• cast down
• sunk
• weeping
• bleak
• anguished
• unquiet
• somber
• regretful
• plaintive
• morose
• dolorous
• desolate
• sullen
• lugubrious
• morbid
• lachrymose
• agonized
• cheerless
• wailing
• rueful
• saturnine
• elegiac
• dismal
• gray
• dark
• dreary
• comfortless
• funereal
• drear
• black
• darkening
• murky

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• happy
• jubilant
• cheerful
• joyful
• joyous
• glad
• buoyant
• buoyed
• upbeat
• gleeful
• exultant
• cheery
• ecstatic
• blissful
• exuberant
• delighted
• euphoric
• chipper
• merry
• sunny
• enraptured
• hopeful
• jovial
• optimistic
• rapturous
• excited
• jolly
• rhapsodic
• mirthful
• elated
• sanguine
• blithe
• jocular
• exhilarated
• rosy
• jocose
• overjoyed
• lively
• spirited
• entranced
• gladdened
• gladsome
• energetic
• smiling
• encouraged
• jocund
• perky
• satisfied
• sprightly
• vital
• vivacious
• animated
• content
• laughing
• bouncing
• jaunty
• pleased
• blithesome
• lightsome
• frisky
• thrilled
• unconcerned
• springy
• careless
• gratified
• peppy
• grinning
• heartened
• carefree
• lighthearted
• cavalier
• easygoing
• zippy
• insouciant
• boon
• beaming
• happy-go-lucky
• sprightful
• devil-may-care

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

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