despair

de·spair

D0162700 (dĭ-spâr′)intr.v. de·spaired, de·spair·ing, de·spairs 1. To lose all hope: despaired of reaching shore safely.2. To be overcome by a sense of futility or defeat.n.1. Complete loss of hope.2. One despaired of or causing despair: unmotivated students that are the despair of their teachers.

[Middle English despeiren, from Old French desperer, from Latin dēspērāre : dē-, de- + spērāre, to hope; see spē- in Indo-European roots. N., from Middle English despeir, from Anglo-Norman, from Old French desperer, to despair.]

despair

(dɪˈspɛə) vb1. (often foll by: of) to lose or give up hope: I despair of his coming. 2. (tr) obsolete to give up hope of; lose hope inn3. (Psychology) total loss of hope4. a person or thing that causes hopelessness or for which there is no hope[C14: from Old French despoir hopelessness, from desperer to despair, from Latin dēspērāre, from de- + spērāre to hope]

de•spair

(dɪˈspɛər)

n. 1. loss of hope; hopelessness. 2. a source of hopelessness: to be the despair of one's teachers. v.i. 3. to lose, give up, or be without hope: to despair of humanity. v.t. 4. Obs. to give up hope of. [1275–1325; < Old French despoir (n.), < Latin dēspērāre to be without hope =dē- de- + spērāre to hope, derivative of spēs hope] de•spair′er, n. syn: despair, desperation, despondency refer to a state of mind caused by circumstances that seem too much to cope with. despair suggests total loss of hope, usu. accompanied by apathy and low spirits: He sank into despair after the bankruptcy. desperation is a state in which loss of hope drives a person to struggle against circumstances, with utter disregard of consequences: In desperation, they knocked down the door. despondency is a state of deep gloom due to loss of hope and a sense of futility and resignation: despondency after a serious illness.

despair

Past participle: despaired
Gerund: despairing

Imperative
despair
despair

Present
I despair
you despair
he/she/it despairs
we despair
you despair
they despair

Preterite
I despaired
you despaired
he/she/it despaired
we despaired
you despaired
they despaired

Present Continuous
I am despairing
you are despairing
he/she/it is despairing
we are despairing
you are despairing
they are despairing

Present Perfect
I have despaired
you have despaired
he/she/it has despaired
we have despaired
you have despaired
they have despaired

Past Continuous
I was despairing
you were despairing
he/she/it was despairing
we were despairing
you were despairing
they were despairing

Past Perfect
I had despaired
you had despaired
he/she/it had despaired
we had despaired
you had despaired
they had despaired

Future
I will despair
you will despair
he/she/it will despair
we will despair
you will despair
they will despair

Future Perfect
I will have despaired
you will have despaired
he/she/it will have despaired
we will have despaired
you will have despaired
they will have despaired

Future Continuous
I will be despairing
you will be despairing
he/she/it will be despairing
we will be despairing
you will be despairing
they will be despairing

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been despairing
you have been despairing
he/she/it has been despairing
we have been despairing
you have been despairing
they have been despairing

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been despairing
you will have been despairing
he/she/it will have been despairing
we will have been despairing
you will have been despairing
they will have been despairing

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been despairing
you had been despairing
he/she/it had been despairing
we had been despairing
you had been despairing
they had been despairing

Conditional
I would despair
you would despair
he/she/it would despair
we would despair
you would despair
they would despair

Past Conditional
I would have despaired
you would have despaired
he/she/it would have despaired
we would have despaired
you would have despaired
they would have despaired

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	despair - 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"desperationcondition, status - a state at a particular time; "a condition (or state) of disrepair"; "the current status of the arms negotiations"
	2.	despair - 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"feeling - the experiencing of affective and emotional states; "she had a feeling of euphoria"; "he had terrible feelings of guilt"; "I disliked him and the feeling was mutual"hopelessness - the despair you feel when you have abandoned hope of comfort or successresignation, surrender - acceptance of despairdiscouragement, disheartenment, dismay - the feeling of despair in the face of obstaclespessimism - the feeling that things will turn out badlyhope - the general feeling that some desire will be fulfilled; "in spite of his troubles he never gave up hope"
Verb	1.	despair - abandon hope; give up hope; lose heart; "Don't despair--help is on the way!"despond - lose confidence or hope; become dejected; "The supporters of the Presidential candidate desponded when they learned the early results of the election"hope - be optimistic; be full of hope; have hopes; "I am still hoping that all will turn out well"

despair

noun1. despondency, depression, misery, gloom, desperation, anguish, melancholy, hopelessness, dejection, wretchedness, disheartenment She shook her head in despair at the futility of it all.verb1. lose hope, give up, be discouraged, be pessimistic, lose heart, be despondent, be dejected, be demoralized, resign yourself, look on the black side He despairs at much of the press criticism.

despair

verbTo lose all hope:despond, give up.nounUtter lack of hope:desperateness, desperation, despond, despondence, despondency, hopelessness.

Translations

绝望令人绝望的人

despair

(diˈspeə) verb to lose hope (of). I despair of ever teaching my son anything.绝望 noun1. the state of having given up hope. He was filled with despair at the news.绝望2. (with the) something which causes someone to despair. He is the despair of his mother.令人绝望的人

despair

→ 绝望zhCN

despair

in the depths of (something)

In the middle of and wholly consumed by a particularly negative and/or difficult situation or emotional state. The country was in the depths of the worst economic disaster of the last century. While I was in the depths of depression, I found that I couldn't even get out of bed in the morning.See also: depth, of

despair of (something)

To view a situation as hopeless. Considering her dire diagnosis, I despaired of grandma ever regaining her health.See also: despair, of

drive (one) to despair

To cause one to experience sadness, hopelessness, and/or frustration. I'm not surprised that his wife's death has driven him to despair—grief has that effect on people. Try not to let this rejection drive you to despair.See also: despair, drive

throw up (one's) hands

To submit or give up. I'm ready to throw up my hands after trying to train this unruly puppy. Don't just throw up your hands—keep trying.See also: hand, throw, up

throw up (one's) hands in despair

To indicate one's unwilling and despairing submission to or acceptance of something. We threw up our hands in despair after they told us that our appointment had been rescheduled again for a third time. All you can do is throw your arms up in despair at the way the government is being run these days.See also: despair, hand, throw, up

a counsel of despair

An admission of defeat, hopelessness, or resignation to a particular negative outcome or situation. It saddens me to hear such a counsel of despair from our president about the situation regarding our healthcare system. Though obviously spruced up with media-friendly spin, the PR statement amounted to little more than a counsel of despair regarding the company's future outlooks.See also: counsel, despair, of

fall into despair

To enter into a state of utter hopelessness, helplessness, and depression. I fell into despair when I was told I hadn't gotten the job. We can't fall into despair just because our sales figures weren't what we were hoping for—we've got to pick ourselves up and do what is necessary to get back on track!See also: despair, fall

sink into despair

To enter into a state of utter hopelessness, helplessness, and depression. I sank into despair when I was told I hadn't gotten the job. We can't sink into despair just because our sales figures weren't what we were hoping for—we've got to pick ourselves up and do what is necessary to get back on track!See also: despair, sink

despair of something

to give up all hope of something. Do not despair of his returning; I think we will see him again. I despair of ever seeing her again.See also: despair, of

drive someone to despair

Fig. to depress someone; to frustrate someone. Sometimes raising an infant drives me to despair! The recent problems drove her to despair.See also: despair, drive

sink into despair

to become depressed; to become completely discouraged. After facing the hopelessness of the future, Jean Paul sank into despair. Mary sank into despair upon learning of the death of her grandmother.See also: despair, sink

a counsel of despair

an action to be taken when all else fails. 2003 Guardian This is not a counsel of despair. The argument in favour of the euro can be won, as Winning From Behind, a pamphlet published today by Britain in Europe, argues. See also: counsel, despair, of

throw up your hands/arms in deˈspair, ˈhorror, etc.

(often humorous) show that you disagree strongly with something, or are very worried about something: When she said she wanted to get a motorbike, her parents threw up their hands in horror.See also: arm, hand, throw, up

despair of

v. To lose all hope for something or someone: The shipwrecked sailors despaired of being rescued. I have seen so much unfairness that I despair of a just world.See also: despair, of

despair

de·spair

despair

de•spair

despair

despair

despair

despair

despair

despair

in the depths of (something)

despair of (something)

drive (one) to despair

throw up (one's) hands

throw up (one's) hands in despair

a counsel of despair

fall into despair

sink into despair

despair of something

drive someone to despair

sink into despair

a counsel of despair

throw up your hands/arms in deˈspair, ˈhorror, etc.

despair of

Despair

Despair

despair

despair

despair

Synonyms for despair

noun despondency

Synonyms

verb lose hope

Synonyms

Synonyms for despair

verb to lose all hope

Synonyms

noun utter lack of hope

Synonyms

Synonyms for despair

noun a state in which all hope is lost or absent

Synonyms

Related Words

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

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Antonyms

verb abandon hope

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Antonyms