Despair - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary
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despair
4 ENTRIES FOUND:
1) despair (verb)
2) despair (noun)
counsel of despair
self-despair (noun)
1de¡¤spair verb \di-?sper\
Definition of DESPAIR
intransitive verb
: to lose all hope or confidence <despair of winning>
transitive verb
obsolete : to lose hope for
¡ª de¡¤spair¡¤er noun
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Examples of DESPAIR
Things look bad now, but don't despair.
<we despaired when we saw how little time we had left to complete our project>
Sometimes it is hard not to despair about relations between men and women in American society. They seem to have hit rock bottom. ¡ªElisabeth Lasch-Quinn, New Republic, 6 May 2002
It is possible that at this stage Caesar had not altogether despaired of a consensual solution to the difficulties facing the Republic. ¡ªAnthony Everitt, Cicero, (2001) 2003
Yet, until very recently, Alzheimer's was so poorly understood that scientists despaired of finding a treatment, much less a cure. ¡ªKen Garber, Technology, March 2001
[+]more[-]hide
Origin of DESPAIR
Middle English despeiren, from Anglo-French desperer, from Latin desperare, from de- + sperare to hope; akin to Latin spes hope ¡ª more at speed
First Known Use: 14th century
Related to DESPAIR
Synonyms: despond, lose heart
Antonyms: brighten, cheer (up), perk (up)
Related Words: give up, surrender, yield; darken, sadden; agonize, bleed, grieve, hurt, mourn, sorrow, suffer; discourage, dishearten, dispirit
Near Antonyms: exult, rejoice; assure, encourage, hearten, reassure; hope[+]more[-]hide
Rhymes with DESPAIR
affair, aglare, airfare, Ajmer, Altair, antbear, armchair, au pair, aware, bakeware, barware, Basseterre, Baudelaire, beachwear, berg¨¨re, beware, bid fair, big hair, black bear, bricklayer, broodmare, brown bear, bugbear, caneware, carfare, Carr¨¨re, cave bear, chi-square, clayware, club chair, compare, compere, confrere, cookware, corsair, courseware, creamware, crosshair, cudbear, daymare, dead air, decare, deck chair, declare, delftware, dishware, ¨¦clair, elsewhere, ensnare, eyewear, fanfare, fieldfare, firmware, flatware, Flaubert, footwear, forbear, forebear, forswear, foursquare, freeware, funfair, gal¨¨re, giftware, glassware, Great Bear, groupware, Gruy¨¨re, guard hair, hardware, health care, hectare, high chair, horsehair, hot air, impair, infare, Khmer, Kildare, knitwear, life-care, light air, longhair, loungewear, Mayfair, menswear, meuni¨¨re, midair, mohair, Moli¨¨re, neckwear, nightmare, no fair, outstare, out-there, outwear, playwear, plein air, plowshare, Poor Clare, Port Blair, portiere, premiere, prepare, pushchair, rainwear, redware, repair, root hair, Sancerre, sea hare, shank's mare, shareware, shorthair, side chair, Sinclair, skiwear, sleepwear, slipware, sloth bear, software, somewhere, spongeware, sportswear, stemware, stoneware, sun bear, swimwear, threadbare, tinware, torch¨¨re, trouv¨¨re, tuyere, unfair, unhair, unswear, Voltaire, warfare, welfare, wheelchair, wirehair, workfarehide', more: '[+]more'}); });
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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for "despair"
Spanish-English Dictionary: Translation of "despair"
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despair
4 ENTRIES FOUND:
1de¡¤spair verb \di-?sper\
Definition of DESPAIR
intransitive verb
transitive verb
obsolete : to lose hope for
¡ª de¡¤spair¡¤er noun
Examples of DESPAIR
Things look bad now, but don't despair.
<we despaired when we saw how little time we had left to complete our project>
Sometimes it is hard not to despair about relations between men and women in American society. They seem to have hit rock bottom. ¡ªElisabeth Lasch-Quinn, New Republic, 6 May 2002
It is possible that at this stage Caesar had not altogether despaired of a consensual solution to the difficulties facing the Republic. ¡ªAnthony Everitt, Cicero, (2001) 2003
Yet, until very recently, Alzheimer's was so poorly understood that scientists despaired of finding a treatment, much less a cure. ¡ªKen Garber, Technology, March 2001
Origin of DESPAIR
First Known Use: 14th century
Related to DESPAIR
Rhymes with DESPAIR
Learn More About DESPAIR
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Seen & Heard
What made you want to look up despair? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
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