Despairing — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

abandon hope; give up hope; lose heart

arising from or marked by despair or loss of hope

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/dɹˈɔːhɔːɹs/

🇬🇧British English

/dɪspˈeəɹɪŋ/

🇮🇳Indian English

/dɪspˈeəɹɪŋ/

3 syllables Say it as /dɹˈɔːhɔːɹs/.

Examples

Don't despair--help is on the way!
a despairing view of the world situation
the last despairing plea of the condemned criminal

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

desperate despair

Antonyms

hope

Parts of Speech

verb	abandon hope; give up hope; lose heart “Don't despair--help is on the way!”
adjective	arising from or marked by despair or loss of hope “a despairing view of the world situation”

Word Forms

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

verzweifelt

die Hoffnung aufgeben; gib die Hoffnung auf; den Mut verlieren

🇫🇷French

désespéré

abandonnez l'espoir; abandonnez tout espoir; perdre courage

🇪🇸Spanish

desesperado

abandonar la esperanza; perder la esperanza; descorazonarse

🇮🇹Italian

disperato

abbandonare la speranza; rinunciare alla speranza; perdersi d'animo

🇳🇱Dutch

wanhopig

de hoop opgeven; de hoop opgeven; hart verliezen

🇵🇹Portuguese

desesperado

abandonar a esperança; desista da esperança; desanimar

🇷🇺Russian

отчаявшийся

отказаться от надежды; отказаться от надежды; падать духом

India

🇮🇳Hindi

निराश

छोड़ी गई आशा; आशा छोड़ दो; हिम्मत हारना

🇧🇩Bengali

হতাশাজনক

আশা ত্যাগ করা; আশা ছেড়ে দাও হৃদয় হারান

🇮🇳Tamil

அவநம்பிக்கை

நம்பிக்கையை கைவிடு; நம்பிக்கையை கைவிடு; இதயத்தை இழக்க

🇮🇳Telugu

వైరాగ్యం

ఆశ విడిచిపెట్టు; ఆశ వదులుకో; గుండె కోల్పోతారు

🇮🇳Marathi

निराशाजनक

आशा सोडून द्या; आशा सोडून द्या; हृदय गमावणे

🇮🇳Gujarati

નિરાશાજનક

આશા છોડી દો; આશા છોડી દો; હૃદય ગુમાવવું

🇮🇳Kannada

ಹತಾಶೆಯಿಂದ

ಭರವಸೆಯನ್ನು ತ್ಯಜಿಸು; ಭರವಸೆಯನ್ನು ಬಿಟ್ಟುಬಿಡಿ; ಹೃದಯ ಕಳೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಾರೆ

🇮🇳Malayalam

നിരാശപ്പെടുത്തുന്നു

പ്രതീക്ഷ ഉപേക്ഷിക്കുക; പ്രതീക്ഷ കൈവിടുക; ഹൃദയം നഷ്ടപ്പെടുക

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਨਿਰਾਸ਼ਾਜਨਕ

ਉਮੀਦ ਛੱਡ ਦਿਓ; ਉਮੀਦ ਛੱਡ ਦਿਓ; ਦਿਲ ਗੁਆਉਣਾ

🇵🇰Urdu

مایوس کن

امید چھوڑنا؛ امید چھوڑ دو دل کھونا

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

绝望的

放弃希望；放弃希望；失去信心

🇯🇵Japanese

絶望的な

希望を捨てる。希望を捨てる。心を失う

🇰🇷Korean

절망적인

희망을 버리십시오. 희망을 버리십시오. 낙심하다

🇻🇳Vietnamese

tuyệt vọng

từ bỏ hy vọng; từ bỏ hy vọng; mất lòng

🇹🇭Thai

สิ้นหวัง

ละทิ้งความหวัง หมดหวัง; เสียหัวใจ

🇮🇩Indonesian

berputus asa

meninggalkan harapan; putus asa; tawar hati

🇵🇭Filipino

nawawalan ng pag-asa

iwanan ang pag-asa; mawalan ng pag-asa; mawalan ng loob

🇲🇾Malay

putus asa

meninggalkan harapan; putus harapan; hilang hati

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

يائسة

تخلى عن الأمل؛ تخلى عن الأمل؛ تفقد القلب

🇮🇷Persian

ناامید کننده

امید را رها کن؛ قطع امید؛ از دست دادن دل

🇹🇷Turkish

umutsuz

umudunu bırak; umudunu kes; cesareti kırılmak

🇮🇱Hebrew

מיואש

לנטוש את התקווה; לְהִתְיָאֵשׁ; לְהִתְיָאֵשׁ

Test Yourself1 / 3

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

The primary meaning of 'despairing' is 'abandon hope; give up hope; lose heart'.

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

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

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

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

Community Poll1 / 6

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

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Do you find 'despairing' easy to spell?

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

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Neutral

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

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

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

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

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

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