Transcription
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
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- [dih-spair]
- /dɪˈspɛər/
- /dɪˈspeər/
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
-
- [dih-spair]
- /dɪˈspɛər/
Definitions of despair word
- uncountable noun despair Despair is the feeling that everything is wrong and that nothing will improve. 3
- verb despair If you despair, you feel that everything is wrong and that nothing will improve. 3
- verb despair If you despair of something, you feel that there is no hope that it will happen or improve. If you despair of someone, you feel that there is no hope that they will improve. 3
- verb despair to lose or give up hope 3
- verb despair to give up hope of; lose hope in 3
- noun despair total loss of hope 3
Information block about the term
Origin of despair
First appearance:
before 1275 One of the 13% oldest English words
1275-1325; Middle English despeir (noun), despeiren (v.) < Anglo-French despeir, Old French despoir (noun), despeir-, tonic stem of desperer (v.) < Latin dēspērāre to be without hope, equivalent to dē- de- + spērāre to hope, derivative of spēs hope
Historical Comparancy
Parts of speech for Despair
noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
despair popularity
A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 90% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".
despair usage trend in Literature
This diagram is provided by Google Ngram ViewerSynonyms for despair
noun despair
- gloom — total or partial darkness; dimness.
- melancholy — sober thoughtfulness; pensiveness.
- pain — physical suffering or distress, as due to injury, illness, etc.
- desperation — Desperation is the feeling that you have when you are in such a bad situation that you will try anything to change it.
- sorrow — distress caused by loss, affliction, disappointment, etc.; grief, sadness, or regret.
verb despair
- relinquish — to renounce or surrender (a possession, right, etc.): to relinquish the throne.
- despond — to lose heart or hope; become disheartened; despair
- renounce — to give up or put aside voluntarily: to renounce worldly pleasures.
- drop — a small quantity of liquid that falls or is produced in a more or less spherical mass; a liquid globule.
- yield — to give forth or produce by a natural process or in return for cultivation: This farm yields enough fruit to meet all our needs.
Antonyms for despair
noun despair
- happiness — the quality or state of being happy.
- joy — a female given name.
- contentment — Contentment is a feeling of quiet happiness and satisfaction.
- cheerfulness — full of cheer; in good spirits: a cheerful person.
- joyfulness — full of joy, as a person or one's heart; glad; delighted.
verb despair
- hope — Anthony, pen name of Sir Anthony Hope Hawkins.
- keep — to hold or retain in one's possession; hold as one's own: If you like it, keep it. Keep the change.
- pursue — to strive to gain; seek to attain or accomplish (an end, object, purpose, etc.).
- anticipate — If you anticipate an event, you realize in advance that it may happen and you are prepared for it.
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See also
Matching words
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