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despairing

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verb

present participle of despair

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective despairing differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of despairing are desperate, despondent, and hopeless. While all these words mean "having lost all or nearly all hope," despairing suggests the slipping away of all hope and often despondency.

despairing appeals for the return of the kidnapped child

When is it sensible to use desperate instead of despairing?

While the synonyms desperate and despairing are close in meaning, desperate implies despair that prompts reckless action or violence in the face of defeat or frustration.

one last desperate attempt to turn the tide of battle

When might despondent be a better fit than despairing?

While in some cases nearly identical to despairing, despondent implies a deep dejection arising from a conviction of the uselessness of further effort.

despondent about yet another rejection

Where would hopeless be a reasonable alternative to despairing?

The synonyms hopeless and despairing are sometimes interchangeable, but hopeless suggests despair and the cessation of effort or resistance and often implies acceptance or resignation.

the situation of the trapped miners is hopeless

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of despairing
Adjective
Western allies of the United States gathered in Munich this past week, anxious, adrift and despairing in the face of President Trump’s brute display of muscle-flexing on the global stage. Mark Landler, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2025 Bleak as that may sound, the musical finds rare shards of light — and an unlikely connection — in the most despairing of places. Peter Debruge, Variety, 27 Jan. 2025
Verb
These are the people who, despairing of finding their way out honestly, simply smash and bash their way through the corn willy-nilly. Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 19 Oct. 2024 Meme-makers across America are despairing right now. Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2024 See All Example Sentences for despairing
Recent Examples of Synonyms for despairing
Adjective
  • Mimi seesaws between hopeless heroin addict and righteous truth-teller.
    Jeffrey Seller, Vulture, 11 Apr. 2025
  • Previewing the playoffs with a playoff team draft Finding 3 positive thoughts for each of the NHL’s 15 most hopeless teams 16 stats: Blues’ turnaround, Lane Hutson’s stardom and Stars’ struggles Comments D Dan N. · 4h 17m ago Helle is thee best.
    Scott Powers, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • The Escape As terror swept through the city, thousands of desperate Alawites fled.
    Christina Goldbaum, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2025
  • The quiet city of Medford, Oregon was shaken by Maggie Friar's desperate 911 call in the early morning hours of Oct. 2, 2017.
    Natalie Morales, Richard Fetzer, CBS News, 19 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Bereavement hallucinations—intensely vivid encounters with the deceased—are reported by as many as half of all grieving people.
    Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 24 Mar. 2025
  • The Catalan feature tells the stories of Anabel and her mother, Delia, who are grieving for Julián, Anabel’s father.
    Jamie Lang, Variety, 22 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Beyond that, Acheampong’s rapid rise and equally precipitous fall in the first two weeks of January lent itself to the more cynical notion that Maresca might have wanted to send a message to Chelsea about the need for defensive reinforcements in the winter market.
    Liam Twomey, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2025
  • Perhaps most perplexing about Smash, though, is its weirdly cynical, ungenerous take on the Bombshell herself.
    Greg Evans, Deadline, 10 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Despite his close relationship with Trump, Elon Musk is unhappy about tariffs, which stand to hurt the business empire of the world’s richest man.
    Danielle Chemtob, Forbes.com, 9 Apr. 2025
  • There have even been reports of police being called to deal with the rowdy behavior, not to mention some theater employees who are unhappy about the cleanup required.
    Lisa Respers France, CNN Money, 8 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Anyway, Asma is now suffering terribly, according to reports.
    Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 31 Dec. 2024
  • Under the hood, your body is often suffering from dehydration and inflammation.
    Lance Eliot, Forbes, 31 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • Yet, whatever the deal means for Paul, Weiss, its acquiescence to Trump marks a sad day for the legal profession—or what once was a profession, and is now just another business.
    Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 27 Mar. 2025
  • Kwong grew up hearing stories of every kind about Manzanar—scary, sad, funny and infuriating.
    Rachel Ng, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • The community is now mourning his loss.
    Jo Ciavaglia, USA Today, 13 Apr. 2025
  • Also, the episode opens with the introduction of Kaitlyn Dever’s Abby with a group of Fireflies, seemingly mourning the losses at the hospital where Joel murdered everyone to save Ellie.
    Katie Campione, Deadline, 13 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Despairing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/despairing. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.

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