despond

[ dih-spond des-pond ]

verb (used without object)

1. to be depressed by loss of hope, confidence, or courage.

noun

1. despondency.

despond

verb

1. intr to lose heart or hope; become disheartened; despair

noun

1. archaic.
   lack of hope; despondency

Derived Forms

• deˈspondingly, adverb

Other Words From

• de·sponder noun
• de·sponding·ly adverb
• unde·sponding adjective
• unde·sponding·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of despond¹

1670–80; < Latin dēspondēre to give up, lose heart, promise, equivalent to dē- de- + spondēre to promise

Word History and Origins

Origin of despond¹

C17: from Latin dēspondēre to promise, make over to, yield, lose heart, from de- + spondēre to promise

Example Sentences

From the despair of the loss to Ross County and the despond of the draw in Dundee, this was a step in the right direction, a win that will take them back here for a cup final against Celtic.

From BBC

Pickett survived but fell into a slough of despond and vengefulness.

From Los Angeles Times

Now that gaining admission to many colleges, including most branches of the University of California, requires the kind of competitive credentials more normally associated with getting a co-op in Manhattan, junior year has become the Slough of Despond for students — there is a way through, but any misstep sends you right back into a depression.

From Los Angeles Times

Varon describes her famously mercurial subject as “gloomy” and “in a funk,” struggling to “fight his way out of his slough of despond,” harboring “a fatalistic despair.”

From Slate

Lawrence started building “Phantasma Gloria” around the turn of the millennium, when he was “languishing in the sea of despond for the unmet yearning to create something new and beautiful in the world.”

From Los Angeles Times