Synonyms for despair
dɪˈspɛər

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

1. despair, desperation(noun)

   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. despair(verb)

   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. despair(verb)

   abandon hope; give up hope; lose heart

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

   Antonyms:
   hope

Wiktionary(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate these synonyms:

1. despair(noun)

   Synonyms:
   desperation, hopelessness, despondency

2. despair(noun)

   Loss of hope; utter hopelessness; complete despondency.

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

   Synonyms:
   hopelessness, desperation, despondency

3. despair(verb)

   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. despair(n)

   Synonyms:
   hopelessness, despondency, desperation

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

2. despair(v)

   Synonyms:
   despond, faint

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

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

1. despair(n.)

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

2. despair(v. n.)

   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. despair(n)

   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

How to pronounce despair?

Alex

US English

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British

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Australian

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Indian

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Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use despair in a sentence?

1. Chow Kwun-wai:

   Some audiences, they see despair, but when I look into their eyes and spoke to them, they were so eager to find solutions for Hong Kong after watching the move.

2. Anne Applebaum:

   We admired Silberman’s work because it is powered by a strongly argued set of beliefs: That we should stop drawing sharp lines between what we assume to be 'normal' and 'abnormal', and that we should remember how much the differently wired human brain has, can and will contribute to our world, he has injected a hopeful note into a conversation that's normally dominated by despair.

3. bprincess10:

   When in despair, we tend to stray. Be optimistic, redemption is not far away!

4. Jerome K. Jerome, "Idle thought of an Idle Fellow":

   Time has laid its healing hand upon the wound when we can look back at the the pain we once fainted under, and no bitterness or despair arises in our heart.

5. Paul E. Pfuetze:

   Now the alternative to despair is courage. And human life can be viewed as a continuous struggle between these two options. Courage is the capacity to affirm one's life in spite of the elements which threaten it. The fact that courage usually predominates over despair in itself tells us something important about life. It tells you that the forces that affirm life are stronger than those that negate it.

Images & Illustrations of despair