Library / English Dictionary

DESPAIR

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The feeling that everything is wrong and nothing will turn out well

Example:

one harsh word would send her into the depths of despair

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Hypernyms ("despair" is a kind of...):

feeling (the experiencing of affective and emotional states)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "despair"):

hopelessness (the despair you feel when you have abandoned hope of comfort or success)

resignation; surrender (acceptance of despair)

discouragement; disheartenment; dismay (the feeling of despair in the face of obstacles)

pessimism (the feeling that things will turn out badly)

Antonym:

hope (the general feeling that some desire will be fulfilled)

Derivation:

despair (abandon hope; give up hope; lose heart)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A state in which all hope is lost or absent

Example:

courage born of desperation

Synonyms:

despair; desperation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("despair" is a kind of...):

condition; status (a state at a particular time)

Derivation:

despair (abandon hope; give up hope; lose heart)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Abandon hope; give up hope; lose heart

Example:

Don't despair--help is on the way!

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "despair"):

despond (lose confidence or hope; become dejected)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Sentence examples:

Sam and Sue despair

Sam and Sue despair over the results of the experiment

Antonym:

hope (be optimistic; be full of hope; have hopes)

Derivation:

despair (the feeling that everything is wrong and nothing will turn out well)

despair (a state in which all hope is lost or absent)

desperate (a person who is frightened and in need of help)

desperation (a state in which all hope is lost or absent)

Credits

 Context examples: 

He turned a dreadful smile to me, and as if with the decision of despair, plucked away the sheet.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Von Bork clutched at his own throat in despair.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Martin, with the dull pain of despair at his heart, mechanically reaching for the tobacco and paper (which he no longer carried) to roll a cigarette, muttered something inarticulate, and Ruth went on.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

I was struck with the utmost grief and despair at my master’s discourse; and being unable to support the agonies I was under, I fell into a swoon at his feet.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

"Didn't you know water would be the end of me?" asked the Witch, in a wailing, despairing voice.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

The king’s son was beside himself with pain, and in his despair he leapt down from the tower.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

Mental reactions can include anger, guilt, anxiety, sadness and despair.

(Bereavement, NIH: National Cancer Institute)

A melancholy feeling of sadness and despair.

(Depression, NCI Thesaurus)

It may include feelings of great sadness, anger, guilt, and despair.

(Grief, NCI Dictionary)

Men despaired of matching him with an equal, and Beauty Smith was compelled to pit wolves against him.

(White Fang, by Jack London)