despondent

adjective

di-ˈspän-dənt How to pronounce despondent (audio)
Definition of despondentnext
1
as in desperate
feeling or showing no hope after four days and still no word that the missing plane had been located, the relatives were despondent

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in depressed
feeling unhappiness feeling despondent over the death of another close friend

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective despondent differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of despondent are despairing, desperate, and hopeless. While all these words mean "having lost all or nearly all hope," despondent implies a deep dejection arising from a conviction of the uselessness of further effort.

despondent about yet another rejection

Where would despairing be a reasonable alternative to despondent?

The words despairing and despondent can be used in similar contexts, but despairing suggests the slipping away of all hope and often despondency.

despairing appeals for the return of the kidnapped child

When would desperate be a good substitute for despondent?

The synonyms desperate and despondent are sometimes interchangeable, but 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

In what contexts can hopeless take the place of despondent?

While in some cases nearly identical to despondent, 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 despondent Many described conditions as reminiscent of the McCarthy era, and were despondent to see how quickly their office’s leaders acquiesced. — Erica L. Green, New York Times, 25 Jan. 2025 Verse was despondent after the game and his self-talk was brutal. — Jourdan Rodrigue, The Athletic, 17 Jan. 2025 But here’s why Biden shouldn’t be despondent: No one can say any of those three immediate predecessors saw their reputations unchanged after decamping from Washington. — Philip Elliott, TIME, 13 Jan. 2025 Remigio’s youngest son thinks the victim, already despondent over the breakup of a two-year romantic relationship, committed suicide as a result of the home invasion. — Ellen Moynihan, New York Daily News, 25 Nov. 2024 See All Example Sentences for despondent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for despondent
  1. desperate
  2. depressed
  3. hopeless
  4. unhappy
  5. sad
  6. heartbroken
  7. despairing
  8. miserable
Adjective
  • The prospect return likely won't be huge if the Cardinals get desperate, though.
    — Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Mar. 2025
  • When her undercover operations reveal alarming evidence that a high-ranking U.K. politician may be a Russian asset, Kate finds herself in a desperate race to uncover their identity.
    — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 26 Mar. 2025
Definition of desperate
Adjective
  • Swelling in the hands and feet, getting sick frequently, feeling depressed, or having wounds that are slow to heal.
    — Lorena Meouchi, Vogue, 21 Mar. 2025
  • The photographer asked me to act sad and depressed, to stop smiling.
    — Gaylyn Henderson, MPH, Health, 17 Mar. 2025
Definition of depressed
Adjective
  • There are so many hopeless people out there struggling right now financially and with providing for their families.
    — Jordan Greene, People.com, 18 Mar. 2025
  • Sabah had a hopeless prognosis: severe brain edema.
    — Ayesha Khan, The New Yorker, 17 Mar. 2025
Definition of hopeless
Adjective
  • Rather than panic, consider that software developers are pretty unhappy with the status quo.
    — Steve Rodda, Forbes, 18 Mar. 2025
  • Recent polling also suggests that Americans are relatively unhappy with DOGE’s efforts.
    — Filip Timotija, The Hill, 15 Mar. 2025
Definition of unhappy
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
Definition of sad
Adjective
  • In the original visual, the Grammy winner plays a heartbroken character named Peaches who has all traces of her ex wiped from her hippocampus, an homage to Michel Gondry’s 2004 film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
    — Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 26 Mar. 2025
  • Seven Oaks parents ‘heartbroken’ Five Seven Oaks parents reached out to the Statesman to express disappointment with the removal of the bulletin board.
    — Rose Evans, Idaho Statesman, 25 Mar. 2025
Definition of heartbroken
Adjective
  • Reduced to occasionally doing commercials for used cars, and spending most of his days drinking, despairing, and sporadically playing Russian roulette in a retirement home for actors, the curmudgeonly Montana has a death wish that only sheer luck has kept him from fulfilling.
    — Joe Leydon, Variety, 5 Mar. 2025
  • 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
Definition of despairing
Adjective
  • Many parents, in fact, report that the worst-case scenario is not when your whole family is ill but when the adults are miserable and the under-six cohort feels just fine.
    — Kathryn Schulz, New Yorker, 29 Mar. 2025
  • Scratching will just make your rash worse and your life more miserable.
    — Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 29 Mar. 2025
Definition of miserable

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Cite this Entry

“Despondent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/despondent. Accessed 1 Apr. 2025.

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