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.
He was so despondent, his mother said, that she felt her only option was to allow them to be sent back to El Salvador, a country Edwin left when he was 5.
From Salon • Mar. 24, 2026
McGrath then trudged off to the other side of the course, despondent, lying in the snow in angry reflection.
From Barron's • Feb. 16, 2026
In this case, it’s a subplot about despondent self-deporting animals who resolve to flee Oz because their home has become hostile to their kind: “We can’t stay here. It’s become rotten,” says a bear.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 20, 2025
Hope is a commodity in short supply for the town’s despondent and fearful residents.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 9, 2025
The boys were despondent, and argued their case to their mother.
From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers
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.
