despondent
Americanadjective
adjective
Related Words
See hopeless.
Other Word Forms
- despondence noun
- despondency noun
- despondently adverb
- predespondent adjective
- quasi-despondent adjective
- quasi-despondently adverb
- undespondent adjective
- undespondently adverb
Etymology
Origin of despondent
First recorded in 1690–1700; from Latin dēspondent-, stem of dēspondēns “giving up,” present participle of dēspondēre “to give up, lose heart, promise”; despond
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Guilty and despondent, Donatello retreats to his empty family estate in Tuscany, where Kenyon tries to counsel him.
Aviles told the San Antonio Express-News, which published the text messages first, that the relationship and the professional ostracization his wife faced after it was discovered led her to become despondent before her death.
From Salon
McGrath then trudged off to the other side of the course, despondent, lying in the snow in angry reflection.
From Barron's
It seems an entirely different space to the general despondent economic vibe across much of the country.
From BBC
That attitude “has pretty much vanished from British society,” Dr. Daniels says, and it makes him despondent.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
