Meaning & use
dejected
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Meaning
adjectivecomparable
Low in spirits and discouraged, usually because something has gone wrong or hoped-for results did not come.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after a linking verb: a dejected player, he looked dejected.
Patterns
- feel dejected
- look dejected
- dejected about something
The team walked off the field looking dejected after the loss.
She felt dejected when her application was rejected.
A dejected little boy sat on the steps after his balloon floated away.
Word forms
| comparative | more dejected |
|---|---|
| superlative | most dejected |
Common combinations
- look dejected
- He looked dejected as he read the results.
- feel dejected
- I feel dejected when my hard work goes unnoticed.
- dejected expression
- A dejected expression crossed her face.
- dejected fans
- Dejected fans filed out of the stadium.
- sound dejected
- He sounded dejected on the phone.
Synonyms and how they differ
- downcast
- Downcast stresses a lowered look or gaze, while dejected stresses the discouragement behind it.
- despondent
- Despondent suggests deeper, more lasting hopelessness than dejected.
- disheartened
- Disheartened is about losing confidence or courage because of a setback, a slightly narrower idea than dejected.
- crestfallen
- Crestfallen implies sudden disappointment after high hopes, and it is more vivid than dejected.
Opposites
Word family
- dejection noun
- a state of low spirits
- dejectedly adverb
- in a discouraged way
- deject verb
- to make someone sad and discouraged (rare)
- dejectedness noun
- the quality of being dejected
Commonly confused: dejected or rejected? dejected or depressed?
dejected vs rejected
Rejected means refused or turned down, while dejected describes the sad feeling that can follow.
dejected vs depressed
Depressed can mean a clinical illness, but dejected describes a lower, shorter mood caused by a setback.
Practice
After failing her driving test for the third time, Nora felt ___.
Choose one answer.
Dejected describes the discouraged feeling after a setback. Delighted is the opposite, and the other options are awkward and do not name the mood.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “dejected”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.