Meaning & use
despondent
Last updated
Meaning
adjectivecomparable
Feeling deeply discouraged, hopeless, or low because something has gone badly.
Grammar: Usually after feel, become, seem, or grow; can take more/most in careful use. Often followed by about or over.
Patterns
- despondent about something
- feel despondent
- grow despondent
- deeply despondent
She felt despondent after the third rejection letter.
Fans grew despondent during the long losing streak.
He was deeply despondent but still finished the project.
Word forms
| comparative | more despondent |
|---|---|
| superlative | most despondent |
Common combinations
- feel despondent
- It is normal to feel despondent after a public failure.
- despondent about something
- They were despondent about the postponed launch.
- grow despondent
- The crew grew despondent as supplies ran low.
- deeply despondent
- She sounded deeply despondent on the phone.
Synonyms and how they differ
- hopeless
- Hopeless is stronger and says no hope is felt; despondent describes a discouraged state that may pass.
- downhearted
- Downhearted is milder and more informal, closer to sad than despairing.
- discouraged
- Discouraged means less confident after a setback; despondent is deeper and more hopeless.
- gloomy
- Gloomy describes a dark mood or outlook, not necessarily a reaction to one disappointment.
Opposites
Word family
- despondency noun
- A state of low spirits and loss of hope.
- despondently adverb
- In a discouraged, hopeless way.
Commonly confused: despondent or desperate? despondent or disappointed?
despondent vs desperate
Desperate means urgent or reckless from great need; despondent means discouraged and hopeless.
despondent vs disappointed
Disappointed is sadness when hopes fail; despondent is a deeper loss of spirit.
Practice
After months of delays, the team became despondent ___ ever meeting the deadline.
Choose one answer.
“Despondent about” is the natural preposition for the thing causing hopelessness. “By” can name an agent, “for” suggests purpose, and “with” suggests accompaniment rather than the source here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “despondent”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.