How to Use despondency in a Sentence

despondency

noun
  • That realization, though, is key to Stephen’s curdling idealism in the film, a moral collapse that Gosling gives urgency and despondency.
    Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 3 May 2024
  • The car returned to the paddock and a sense of despondency set in.
    Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 3 July 2017
  • In Erbil, the KRG’s capital, the hint of spring in the air is long gone, and a certain despondency has set in.
    The Economist, 10 Apr. 2021
  • With the new year came waves of despondency pounding America, tweet by tweet, op-ed by op-ed.
    Gil Troy, WSJ, 23 Jan. 2022
  • But Ramona has seen some kind of light and is moving on, leaving Isaac in despondency.
    John Anderson, WSJ, 17 Aug. 2017
  • Last week, when the families of five victims gathered at Hussain’s house to talk about the attack, a sense of despondency filled the room.
    Washington Post, 22 June 2021
  • The hallmarks of burnout are feelings of despondency, boredom and being stuck.
    Tracy Brower, Forbes, 27 June 2021
  • Just something to give me more hope and optimism rather than despondency.
    Meghan Leahy, Washington Post, 11 Jan. 2023
  • But the fight itself has been left to Ukrainians, who have expressed a mixture of courageous resolve and despondency.
    Yuras Karmanau, ajc, 6 Mar. 2022
  • Though there’s a question whether despondency isn’t his default state.
    John Anderson, WSJ, 17 Aug. 2017
  • Back then, a senseless war in Afghanistan catalyzed despondency.
    Washington Post, 29 Apr. 2022
  • Just a few days earlier, Manchin had killed the Democrats’ climate-and-tax bill for the second time, setting off Hill protests and general despondency within the Party.
    Jonathan Blitzer, The New Yorker, 5 Aug. 2022
  • This is further highlighted by the fact that both waves of increased death and despondency should have brought wages up, as the workforce shrank and firms competed for a smaller pool of workers.
    Robin Kaiser-Schatzlein, The New Republic, 10 Mar. 2020
  • The losing streak is feeding some despondency in the Democratic ranks, but some Democrats -- including Pelosi allies -- say the long-term view is more favorable.
    John King, CNN, 25 June 2017
  • On the night of the Presidential election, the twins stayed up late watching the returns, alternating between despondency and anger.
    Jonathan Blitzer, The New Yorker, 22 May 2017
  • Aloha and welcome to paradise, provided your idea of paradise is a weak mai tai to wash down a diffuse sense of festering despondency.
    Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 11 July 2021
  • Symptoms include severe mood swings and deep despondency as well as impulses that can impel a mother to harm herself or her child.
    Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2021
  • And so, despondency has become a mainstay of Palestinian life.
    Dalia Hatuqa / Ramallah, Time, 13 Sep. 2019
  • The anger and despondency over her failure to stop the Rohingya persecution has spread to her fellow Nobel laureates.
    Rick Gladstone and Somini Sengupta, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2017
  • Like the glutted inhabitants of Eden-Olympia, the characters in Crash turn to violence in an effort to relieve their despondency.
    Becca Rothfeld, The New Republic, 14 Mar. 2018
  • And yet, despite the despondency evident in this transitional phase, the record has plenty of optimism about the future.
    Carrie Battan, The New Yorker, 2 Sep. 2019
  • Since the election, many residents say, a sense of unease and even despondency has pervaded the city — and not just because the new resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
    Paul Schwartzman, Washington Post, 6 July 2017
  • Across a region with some of the highest vaccination rates in the world, there’s a collective sense of dread, confusion, frustration and despondency.
    Erin Allday, San Francisco Chronicle, 25 July 2021
  • With four straight quarters of pretax losses overseas, there’s no shortage of despondency.
    Washington Post, 31 Jan. 2019
  • Ulman said her heritage as a Ukrainian Jew keeps her from plunging into despondency.
    Washington Post, 6 Apr. 2022
  • But Starr here is it, and his expression is a combination of utter despondency and the realization that Mr. Fredricks might be genuine.
    Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 25 Feb. 2021
  • And the slow reveal of Leigh’s relationship with Axel and the events that led to her mother’s despondency offer a satisfying payoff.
    Meg Medina, New York Times, 1 June 2018
  • George Bailey has lived a commendable life, but his despondency hides this reality from him.
    Peter J. Travers, National Review, 30 Dec. 2023
  • That is feeding into a wave of concern, despondency and in some places near-frenzy at the likely approach of yet another spike in a pandemic the country has battled for nearly two years.
    Annie Linskey, BostonGlobe.com, 24 Dec. 2021
  • None of these thoughts are expressed in words, but thanks to Ben’s impeccable performance, Meena brings even these complex ideas to life through her silent despondency and her yearning for human decency.
    Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 18 Feb. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'despondency.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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