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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in depressed
feeling unhappiness
feeling despondent over the death of another close friend
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Bears tight end Cole Kmet, experienced enough to know about such things, spoke the cold hard truth from inside a despondent Soldier Field locker room Sunday night, emphasizing that carryover in the NFL is tough to generate.
—
Dan Wiederer, New York Times, 21 Jan. 2026
At least two people lost their life savings and, despondent, then took their own lives.
—Kevin Williams, CNBC, 10 Jan. 2026
But in a world that is actively and effectively doing its best to keep us despondent, depressed, and disconnected, keeping our spirits clean is easier said than done.
—Essence, 29 Dec. 2025
Feeling despondent, with little hope for the future or enjoyment of the present?
—Danielle Marie Holland, Parents, 29 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for despondent
Dan Wiederer, New York Times, 21 Jan. 2026
At least two people lost their life savings and, despondent, then took their own lives.
—Kevin Williams, CNBC, 10 Jan. 2026
But in a world that is actively and effectively doing its best to keep us despondent, depressed, and disconnected, keeping our spirits clean is easier said than done.
—Essence, 29 Dec. 2025
Feeling despondent, with little hope for the future or enjoyment of the present?
—Danielle Marie Holland, Parents, 29 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for despondent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for despondent
Adjective
-
Volunteer Kathy Smith said the shelter, which was founded 72 years ago, is in desperate need of help.—
Deborah Laverty,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Apr. 2026
-
The Archdiocese of Miami is making a desperate plea to the federal government, asking it to reconsider the cancellation of an $11 million contract with Catholic Charities that funds a shelter for unaccompanied migrant children in South Florida.—
Abby Dodge,
CBS News,
17 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The father, Jagdish, told me that one of his children was vomiting and the other had bloody stools; both were depressed.—
Sarah Stillman,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
-
So why are young Americans so depressed about their economic future?—
Idrees Kahloon,
The Atlantic,
13 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
During that stretch, Davis has waffled between hopeless and hopeful on a weekly basis.—
Jack Flemming,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Apr. 2026
-
After a while, a group of hopeless employees – sent to a training program – wreaks havoc on each one of them.—
Marta Balaga,
Variety,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
As society gal Rose DeWitt Bukater, Melissa Barrera has freewheeling fun with Kate Winslett’s unhappy bride-to-be character.—
Frank Rizzo,
Variety,
13 Apr. 2026
-
People on my block were unhappy, and block association president was unhappy.—
Jesse Zanger,
CBS News,
13 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
All our thoughts are with his family and loved ones at this incredibly sad time.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Apr. 2026
-
That was very sad that Soft Cell’s Dave Ball died at just 66.—
Pat Saperstein,
Variety,
16 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The singer's brother Eric Stefani wrote the first version, and modified it with help from a freshly heartbroken Gwen, who had just broken up with the band's bassist Tony Kanal — one of a few times in music history that the subject of the song also contributed to its production.—
Stephanie Sengwe,
PEOPLE,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Jamel Davis’ longtime live-in girlfriend first asked her son to stop smoking in the family’s home in the Walt Whitman Houses near Fort Greene Park, sparking a fight, according to the slain man’s heartbroken brother.—
Nicholas Williams,
New York Daily News,
14 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Irony doesn’t have to be nihilistic or despairing.—
Aaron Matz,
The New York Review of Books,
4 Apr. 2026
-
Rebin carries a despairing sense of hope in him, months later.—
Cora Engelbrecht,
New Yorker,
3 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Oil prices are once again surging in the wake of war in the Middle East, driving up the cost of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel and threatening a return to stagflation — the toxic mix of higher prices and slower growth that made economic life so miserable a half-century ago.—
Paul Wiseman,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Apr. 2026
-
That miserable scoring drought that Philadelphia Flyers captain Sean Couturier was mired in earlier all of a sudden seems like a distant memory.—
Kevin Kurz,
New York Times,
12 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Despondent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/despondent. Accessed 17 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
