Synonyms for despair
dɪˈspɛərde·spair

Wiktionary(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate these synonyms:

1. despairnoun

   Synonyms:
   desperation, hopelessness, despondency

2. despairnoun

   To give up as beyond hope or expectation; to despair of.

   He turned around in despair, aware that he was not going to survive

   Synonyms:
   hopelessness, desperation, despondency

3. despairverb

   To cause to despair.

   Synonyms:
   despondency, desperation, hopelessness

English Synonyms and Antonyms(4.00 / 3 votes)Rate these synonyms:

1. despair

   Discouragement is the result of so much repulse or failure as wears out courage. Discouragements too frequent and long continued may produce a settled hopelessness. Hopelessness is negative, and may result from simple apathy; despondency and despair are more emphatic and decided. Despondency is an incapacity for the present exercise of hope; despair is the utter abandonment of hope. Despondency relaxes energy and effort and is always attended with sadness or distress; despair may produce a stony calmness, or it may lead to desperation. Desperation is energized despair, vigorous in action, reckless of consequences.

   Synonyms:
   desperation, despondency, discouragement, hopelessness

   Antonyms:
   anticipation, assurance, cheer, confidence, courage, elation, encouragement, expectancy, expectation, hope, hopefulness, trust

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms(4.33 / 3 votes)Rate these synonyms:

1. despairnoun

   Synonyms:
   hopelessness, despondency, desperation

   Antonyms:
   hopefulness, elation, anticipation, hilarity, confidence, sanguineness, expectation

2. despairverb

   Synonyms:
   despond, faint

   Antonyms:
   hope, trust, confide, rely, presume, rally

Princeton's WordNet(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate these synonyms:

1. despair, desperationnoun

   a state in which all hope is lost or absent

   "in the depths of despair"; "they were rescued from despair at the last minute"; "courage born of desperation"

   Synonyms:
   desperation

   Antonyms:
   hope

2. despairverb

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

   "they moaned in despair and dismay"; "one harsh word would send her into the depths of despair"

   Synonyms:
   desperation

   Antonyms:
   hope

3. despairverb

   abandon hope; give up hope; lose heart

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

   Antonyms:
   hope

Matched Categories

1. • Condition

Dictionary of English Synonymes(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate these synonyms:

1. despairnoun

   Synonyms:
   desperation, loss of hope, complete or utter hopelessness

2. despairverb

   Synonyms:
   despond, lose all hope, give up all expectation, be without any hope

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated Words(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate these synonyms:

1. despairnoun

   Synonyms:
   hopelessness, desperation, inconsolableness

PPDB, the paraphrase database(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate these paraphrases:

1. List of paraphrases for "despair":

   desperation, hopelessness, distress, desolation, despondency, desperate

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How to use despair in a sentence?

1. Magdiel Jorge Castro:

   The funeral services are collapsed. There aren't any coffins, my family was in despair to have a deceased person for 15 hours in their bed in the tropical heat. The funeral home said there were 16 cases like his, people without a place to be buried.

2. Menander:

   He who labors diligently need never despair for all things are accomplished by diligence and labor.

3. Laurette Onkelinx:

   Despair is certainly one of the key explanations, when you are in despair, when you have no future, you are much easier prey to preachers of hatred.

4. Ken Farley:

   I was beginning to despair we would never find the answer.

5. The Pope:

   Experience shows that violence, conflict and terrorism feed on fear, mistrust, and the despair born of poverty and frustration.