Synonyms of hopelessness

hopelessness

noun

as in desperation

utter loss of hope

the fans' hopelessness was dispelled as their team mounted a comeback

Synonyms & Similar Words

• desperation
• despair
• sadness
• sorrow
• depression
• melancholy
• despondency
• despondence
• forlornness
• misery
• oppression
• agony
• slough of despond
• pain
• unhappiness
• sorrowfulness
• resignation
• despond
• gloom
• dejection
• distress
• gloominess
• joylessness
• mournfulness
• acceptance
• dreariness
• self-pity
• blues
• pessimism
• dumps
• cynicism
• desolation
• blue devils
• wretchedness
• dolor
• downheartedness
• self-despair
• mopes
• doldrums
• woe
• disconsolateness
• dispiritedness
• woefulness
• dolefulness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• hopefulness
• hope
• optimism
• cheerfulness
• cheer
• joy
• glee
• mirth
• happiness
• sunniness
• elation
• gaiety
• merriment
• euphoria
• ecstasy
• lightheartedness
• joviality
• exultation
• jollity
• exuberance
• exhilaration
• jubilation
• bliss
• rapture
• joyousness
• joyfulness
• gladness
• gleefulness
• mirthfulness
• blissfulness
• elatedness
• rapturousness

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of hopelessness

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

Understanding the scope of human suffering and hopelessness in our world stirs a strong internal conflict between empathy and pragmatism. — Torrey Snow, Baltimore Sun, 23 Sep. 2026

In the context of suicide, hopelessness can look like acceptance at the end. — Wendy Murphy, Boston Herald, 7 Sep. 2026

These proposals, many times rooted in sympathy and love, were presented as alternatives to the political structures and market logic that had so often led to war, exploitation, hopelessness, and suffering. — Sebastian Smee, The Atlantic, 28 Aug. 2026

Sinatra’s sense of hopelessness is relentless — there’s no meaning in his pursuit of the killer. — Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 28 Aug. 2026

Their disaffection can create a culture of hopelessness and emotional stasis that lasts well past any economic recovery. — Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2026

What is left is a vague feeling of guilt or hopelessness, which rarely leads to action. — Jamil Wyne, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2026

Although the wealthy Gulf oil states and small slivers of Arab elites flourished within this system, for most people the American order meant only violence, hopelessness, and deprivation. — Marc Lynch, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026