despair Click here for more free books!

intr.v., -spaired, -spair·ing, -spairs.

1. To lose all hope: despaired of reaching shore safely.
2. To be overcome by a sense of futility or defeat.

n.

1. Complete loss of hope.
2. One despaired of or causing despair: unmotivated students that are the despair of their teachers.

[Middle English despeiren, from Old French desperer, from Latin dēspērāre : dē-, de- + spērāre, to hope. N., from Middle English despeir, from Anglo-Norman, from Old French desperer, to despair.]

verb

To lose all hope: despond, give up. See hope/despair.

noun

Utter lack of hope: desperateness, desperation, despond, despondence, despondency, hopelessness. See hope/despair.

n

Definition: depression, hopelessness
Antonyms: cheer, cheerfulness, confidence, faith, happiness, hopefulness, joy, joyfulness, trust

v

Definition: give up hope
Antonyms: anticipate, expect, have faith, hope, wish for

---

IN BRIEF: Utter hopelessness.

Action is the antidote to despair. — Joan Baez.

Quotes:

"Through our sunless lanes creeps Poverty with her hungry eyes, and Sin with his sodden face follows close behind her. Misery wakes us in the morning and Shame sits with us at night." - Oscar Wilde

"Because I remember, I despair. Because I remember, I have the duty to reject despair." - Elie Wiesel

"In a real dark night of the soul it is always three o clock in the morning, day after day." - Source Unknown

"Man dies of cold, not of darkness." - Miguel De Unamuno

"It is a time when one's spirit is subdued and sad, one knows not why; when the past seems a storm-swept desolation, life a vanity and a burden, and the future but a way to death." - Mark Twain

"Despair is perfectly compatible with a good dinner, I promise you." - William M. Thackeray

See more famous quotes about Despair

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Common misspelling(s) of despair

• dispair

Dansk (Danish)
n. - fortvivlelse, håbløshed
v. intr. - fortvivle, miste håbet

idioms:

• be the despair of    være kilde til fortvivlelse/sorg for

Nederlands (Dutch)
wanhoop, wanhopen

Français (French)
n. - désespoir
v. intr. - (se) désespérer, perdre l'espoir

idioms:

• be the despair of    faire le désespoir de qn

Deutsch (German)
v. - verzweifeln
n. - Verzweiflung, Hoffnungslosigkeit

idioms:

• be the despair of    zur Verzweiflung treiben

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - απελπίζομαι, βυθίζομαι σε απόγνωση, απογοητεύομαι, εγκαταλείπω κάθε ελπίδα
n. - απελπισία, απόγνωση

idioms:

• be the despair of    είμαι το βάσανο (η πηγή απογοήτευσης) του

Italiano (Italian)
disperare, disperazione

idioms:

• be the despair of    far disperare qualcuno

Português (Portuguese)
v. - desesperar(-se)
n. - desespero (m)

idioms:

• be the despair of    ser o problema de

Русский (Russian)
отчаяться, отчаяние

idioms:

• be the despair of    приводить в отчаяние кого-либо

Español (Spanish)
n. - desesperación, sin esperanzas
v. intr. - desesperar, estar sin esperanzas

idioms:

• be the despair of    ser la desesperación de, volver loco/sacar de quicio a

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - misströsta
n. - förtvivlan, hopplöshet

中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
绝望, 令人失望的人, 失望

idioms:

• be the despair of    令某人感到绝望的

中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 絕望, 令人失望的人, 失望
v. intr. - 絕望

idioms:

• be the despair of    令某人感到絕望的

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 절망, 절망의 근원
v. intr. - 단념하다, 절망하다

idioms:

• be the despair of    ~의 절망 원인이다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 絶望, 絶望の原因
v. - 絶望する

idioms:

• be the despair of    手におえないものである

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) ييأس, , يفقد كل الأمل (الاسم) يأس,‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮ייאוש‬
v. intr. - ‮גורם מפח-נפש, התייאש‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.