Definitions for despair
dɪˈspɛərde·spair

Princeton's WordNet(1.67 / 6 votes)Rate this definition:

1. despair, desperationnoun

   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"

2. despairverb

   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"

3. despairverb

   abandon hope; give up hope; lose heart

   "Don't despair--help is on the way!"

Wiktionary(4.50 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. despairnoun

   Loss of hope; utter hopelessness; complete despondency.

   He turned around in despair, aware that he was not going to survive

2. despairnoun

   That which is despaired of.

3. despairverb

   To give up as beyond hope or expectation; to despair of.

4. despairverb

   To cause to despair.

5. despairverb

   To be hopeless; to have no hope; to give up all hope or expectation.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Despairverb

   to be hopeless; to have no hope; to give up all hope or expectation; -- often with of

2. Despairverb

   to give up as beyond hope or expectation; to despair of

3. Despairverb

   to cause to despair

4. Despairnoun

   loss of hope; utter hopelessness; complete despondency

5. Despairnoun

   that which is despaired of

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Despair

   Despair is one of the Endless, fictional characters from Neil Gaiman's comic book series, The Sandman. Despair is the twin sister of Desire. She is squat, flabby and pale-skinned, with black hair, gray eyes, and pointed teeth. Her voice is little more than a whisper, and she has no odor, but her shadow smells musky and pungent, like the skin of a snake. She does not wear clothes. On a finger of her left hand she wears a ring with a hook attached to it, with which she habitually carves her flesh. The hook is her sigil in the galleries of the other characters. Her realm is a gray space in which floats a white fog and countless mirrors, which are connected to mirrors in the human world, through which she looks on those who are in despair. The only other inhabitants of her realm are her pet rats. Despair sometimes acts together with Desire when she/he is plotting against the elder Endless, most notably when Despair takes on a challenge with Morpheus over the life of Joshua Abraham Norton, seemingly at Desire's bidding. She is less distanced from the family than Desire, though, and seems to have some feeling at least for Delirium, and also seems to miss Destruction so much that she is able to manipulate Dream into feeling guilty over Destruction's abadoning of his duty. She does not say much, and consequently appears brusque, but her speech at Morpheus' wake in The Wake reveals her sympathy and feeling for him.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Despair

   de-spār′, v.i. to be without hope: to despond.—n. want of hope: utter hopelessness: that which causes despair.—adj. Despair′ful (Spens.).—p.adj. Despair′ing, apt to despair: full of despair.—adv. Despair′ingly. [O. Fr. desperer—L. desperāre, -ātum—de, neg., and sperāre, to hope.]

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Despair

   Despair is the feeling of not having any hope left.

   I Despair him.

   Submitted by anonymous on May 6, 2019  

Suggested Resources(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. despair

   Song lyrics by despair -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by despair on the Lyrics.com website.

Matched Categories

1. • Condition

British National Corpus

1. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'despair' in Nouns Frequency: #2519

Anagrams for despair »

1. praised

2. aspired

3. diapers

How to pronounce despair?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say despair in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of despair in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of despair in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of despair in a Sentence

1. William Blake:

   What seems to be, is, to those to whom it seems to be, and is productive of the most dreadful consequences to those to whom it seems to be, even of torments, despair, eternal death.

2. George Eliot, Middlemarch:

   What we call our despair is often only the painful eagerness of unfed hope.

3. Mahatma Gandhi:

   When I despair, I remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it - always.

4. President Barack Obama on Friday:

   May we always remember that our shared heritage makes us stronger, that our roots are intertwined, may we always choose faith over nihilism, and courage over despair, and hope over cynicism and fear.

5. Isaac Herzog:

   Whoever wants to follow Bibi's path of despair and disappointment will vote for him, but whoever wants change, hope, and really a better future for Israel, will vote the Zionist Camp lead by me.

Images & Illustrations of despair

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