Despair — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

a state in which all hope is lost or absent

the feeling that everything is wrong and nothing will turn out well

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/dɹˈɔːfaɪl/

🇬🇧British English

/dɪspˈeə/

🇮🇳Indian English

/dɪspˈeə/

2 syllables Say it as /dɹˈɔːfaɪl/.

Examples

in the depths of despair
they were rescued from despair at the last minute
courage born of desperation

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

desperation

Antonyms

hope

Parts of Speech

noun	a state in which all hope is lost or absent “in the depths of despair”
noun	the feeling that everything is wrong and nothing will turn out well “they moaned in despair and dismay”
verb	abandon hope; give up hope; lose heart “Don't despair--help is on the way!”

Word Forms

despair	verb	abandon hope; give up hope; lose heart
despair	noun	the feeling that everything is wrong and nothing will turn out well
desperation	noun	a state in which all hope is lost or absent
desperate	noun	a person who is frightened and in need of help

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

verzweifeln

ein Zustand, in dem jede Hoffnung verloren ist oder fehlt

🇫🇷French

désespoir

un état dans lequel tout espoir est perdu ou absent

🇪🇸Spanish

desesperación

un estado en el que toda esperanza está perdida o ausente

🇮🇹Italian

disperazione

uno stato in cui ogni speranza è perduta o assente

🇳🇱Dutch

wanhoop

een toestand waarin alle hoop verloren of afwezig is

🇵🇹Portuguese

desespero

um estado em que toda esperança está perdida ou ausente

🇷🇺Russian

отчаяние

состояние, в котором всякая надежда потеряна или отсутствует

India

🇮🇳Hindi

निराशा

ऐसी अवस्था जिसमें सारी आशा खो जाती है या अनुपस्थित हो जाती है

🇧🇩Bengali

হতাশা

একটি রাষ্ট্র যেখানে সমস্ত আশা হারিয়ে গেছে বা অনুপস্থিত

🇮🇳Tamil

விரக்தி

அனைத்து நம்பிக்கையும் இழந்த அல்லது இல்லாத நிலை

🇮🇳Telugu

నిరాశ

అన్ని ఆశలు కోల్పోయిన లేదా లేని స్థితి

🇮🇳Marathi

निराशा

एक राज्य ज्यामध्ये सर्व आशा हरवल्या आहेत किंवा अनुपस्थित आहेत

🇮🇳Gujarati

નિરાશા

એક રાજ્ય જેમાં બધી આશા ખોવાઈ ગઈ છે અથવા ગેરહાજર છે

🇮🇳Kannada

ಹತಾಶೆ

ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಭರವಸೆ ಕಳೆದುಹೋದ ಅಥವಾ ಇಲ್ಲದಿರುವ ಸ್ಥಿತಿ

🇮🇳Malayalam

നിരാശ

എല്ലാ പ്രതീക്ഷകളും നഷ്ടപ്പെടുകയോ ഇല്ലാതിരിക്കുകയോ ചെയ്യുന്ന ഒരു അവസ്ഥ

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਨਿਰਾਸ਼ਾ

ਇੱਕ ਰਾਜ ਜਿਸ ਵਿੱਚ ਸਾਰੀ ਉਮੀਦ ਖਤਮ ਜਾਂ ਗੈਰਹਾਜ਼ਰ ਹੈ

🇵🇰Urdu

مایوسی

ایک ایسی حالت جس میں تمام امیدیں ختم یا غائب ہیں۔

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

绝望

所有希望都消失或不存在的状态

🇯🇵Japanese

絶望

すべての希望が失われた、またはなくなった状態

🇰🇷Korean

절망

모든 희망이 상실되거나 없는 상태

🇻🇳Vietnamese

tuyệt vọng

một trạng thái trong đó tất cả hy vọng bị mất hoặc vắng mặt

🇹🇭Thai

ความสิ้นหวัง

สภาวะที่ความหวังทั้งหมดสูญหายหรือขาดหายไป

🇮🇩Indonesian

putus asa

keadaan di mana semua harapan hilang atau tidak ada

🇵🇭Filipino

kawalan ng pag-asa

isang estado kung saan ang lahat ng pag-asa ay nawala o wala

🇲🇾Malay

putus asa

keadaan di mana semua harapan hilang atau tiada

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

يأس

حالة يضيع فيها كل الأمل أو يغيب

🇮🇷Persian

ناامیدی

حالتی که در آن تمام امید از بین رفته یا وجود ندارد

🇹🇷Turkish

çaresizlik

tüm umutların kaybolduğu veya bulunmadığı bir durum

🇮🇱Hebrew

יֵאוּשׁ

מצב שבו כל תקווה אבודה או נעדרת

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'despair'?

The primary meaning of 'despair' is 'a state in which all hope is lost or absent'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'despair' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'despair' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'despair' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'despair' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'despair' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'despair' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'despair' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'despair' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'despair' in a professional email?

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Never

Would you classify 'despair' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

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