Synonyms of desperation

desperation

noun

ˌde-spə-ˈrā-shən 

as in despair

utter loss of hope

during the famine her desperation drove her to do things she wouldn't have normally considered

Synonyms & Similar Words

• despair
• sadness
• hopelessness
• sorrow
• depression
• melancholy
• agony
• misery
• despondence
• despondency
• forlornness
• oppression
• resignation
• slough of despond
• pain
• distress
• unhappiness
• sorrowfulness
• dejection
• gloom
• despond
• acceptance
• mournfulness
• joylessness
• self-pity
• gloominess
• dreariness
• blues
• dumps
• cynicism
• desolation
• pessimism
• blue devils
• doldrums
• dolor
• wretchedness
• woe
• mopes
• downheartedness
• self-despair
• dispiritedness
• disconsolateness
• woefulness
• dolefulness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• hope
• hopefulness
• optimism
• cheerfulness
• cheer
• mirth
• glee
• joy
• gayety
• elation
• ecstasy
• merriment
• exuberance
• gaiety
• joviality
• happiness
• sunniness
• euphoria
• jollity
• exultation
• exhilaration
• lightheartedness
• jubilation
• bliss
• rapture
• joyousness
• joyfulness
• gladness
• gleefulness
• mirthfulness
• blissfulness
• elatedness
• rapturousness

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of desperation

Officials determined there was one second remaining after Knox’s layup, and a desperation heave by the Red Flash fell short. —Jeff Wallner, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2025

Never quite a buddy comedy, but definitely a morbidly funny thriller fueled by economic desperation, Dope Thief gets off to an extremely promising start. —Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Mar. 2025

Yesterday’s White House stunt had all the hallmarks of Trump corruption, but there was something else, too—an air of desperation. —Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 12 Mar. 2025

Demi Moore plays the aging star who, in her desperation to keep her career alive, tries an experimental drug to roll back the years. —Faisal Kutty, Newsweek, 11 Mar. 2025