Meaning & use
dejection
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Meaning
noununcountableformal
A feeling of sadness and low spirits, often after a disappointment or failure.
Grammar: Uncountable: no plural, and no 'a' before it. You can say 'a feeling of dejection' but not 'a dejection'.
Patterns
- in dejection
- with dejection
- a sense of dejection
After losing the final, he sat in silent dejection.
Her face showed clear dejection when she read the letter.
There was a mood of dejection in the office after the layoffs.
Common combinations
- deep dejection
- He fell into deep dejection after the rejection.
- utter dejection
- She stared at the floor in utter dejection.
- sense of dejection
- A sense of dejection spread through the group.
- in dejection
- He walked home in dejection.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sadness
- More everyday and general; use it in conversation instead of the formal 'dejection'.
- despondency
- Stronger and more literary; it suggests a loss of hope.
- disappointment
- Focuses on the cause (a failed expectation) rather than the ongoing sad mood.
- melancholy
- A more lasting, often thoughtful sadness; not tied to a specific failure.
Opposites
Word family
- deject verb
- To make someone feel unhappy or without hope.
- dejected adjective
- Feeling sad and without hope.
- dejectedly adverb
- In a sad, low-spirited way.
Commonly confused: dejection or rejection?
dejection vs rejection
Rejection is the act of refusing or being refused; dejection is the sad feeling that may follow it.
Practice
After the team lost the championship, a mood of ______ settled over the players.
Choose one answer.
"Dejection" means low spirits or sadness, which fits a losing team's mood. "Rejection" means being refused, which doesn't describe a mood after a loss.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “dejection”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.