1
as in desperate
feeling or showing no hope
after four days and still no word that the missing plane had been located, the relatives were despondent
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2
as in depressed
feeling unhappiness
feeling despondent over the death of another close friend
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Recent Examples of despondent
Armed with metal detectors, a shovel, sifting screens and a 60-pound magnet, Levy has helped recover belongings for wildfire victims for more than 30 years – bringing tears of joy and shrieks of elation to despondent victims who have lost most everything else.
—
Holly Yan, CNN, 2 Feb. 2025
Many described conditions as reminiscent of the McCarthy era, and were despondent to see how quickly their office’s leaders acquiesced.
—Erica L. Green, New York Times, 25 Jan. 2025
Verse was despondent after the game and his self-talk was brutal.
—Jourdan Rodrigue, The Athletic, 17 Jan. 2025
But here’s why Biden shouldn’t be despondent: No one can say any of those three immediate predecessors saw their reputations unchanged after decamping from Washington.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 13 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for despondent
Holly Yan, CNN, 2 Feb. 2025
Many described conditions as reminiscent of the McCarthy era, and were despondent to see how quickly their office’s leaders acquiesced.
—Erica L. Green, New York Times, 25 Jan. 2025
Verse was despondent after the game and his self-talk was brutal.
—Jourdan Rodrigue, The Athletic, 17 Jan. 2025
But here’s why Biden shouldn’t be despondent: No one can say any of those three immediate predecessors saw their reputations unchanged after decamping from Washington.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 13 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for despondent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for despondent
Adjective
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With the Red Army closing in, such gatherings, expressions of a desperate gaiety, a fin d’une époque efflorescence, weren’t rare.—
James Wood,
New Yorker,
7 Apr. 2025
-
The prey is the financially desperate with the idea being that debtors are going to lose their money to creditors anyway.—
Jay Adkisson,
Forbes.com,
7 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Meantime, brands that have thus far managed to weather a wider luxury downturn and depressed consumer spending, such as Hermes , could be best placed to pass on price rises.—
Karen Gilchrist,
CNBC,
4 Apr. 2025
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However, the knock-on effects — namely, depressed U.S. consumer spending and a pullback in ad budgets — would clearly cut into Hollywood’s profits, according to analysts.—
Todd Spangler,
Variety,
3 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Democracy in the United States faces a serious threat, but the case is not hopeless.—
Laura Gamboa,
Foreign Affairs,
31 Mar. 2025
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Despite running on dirt-minded tires that are hopeless on snow and ice, these ultra-luxe restomods had no problem roaring through the powder covering the ground.—
Tim Stevens,
Robb Report,
12 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Despite that success, Willard was unhappy with the program’s financial commitments.—
Taylor Lyons,
Baltimore Sun,
30 Mar. 2025
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The extra time will presumably be used to fix whatever about the season executives are unhappy with.—
Ron Estes,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Yet, whatever the deal means for Paul, Weiss, its acquiescence to Trump marks a sad day for the legal profession—or what once was a profession, and is now just another business.—
Ruth Marcus,
New Yorker,
27 Mar. 2025
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Kwong grew up hearing stories of every kind about Manzanar—scary, sad, funny and infuriating.—
Rachel Ng,
Smithsonian Magazine,
27 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Since the release of his revered 2007 debut For Emma, Forever Ago – a cult-classic isolation record composed by a heartbroken Vernon in a cabin in the Wisconsin woods – the musician has transformed himself time and time again.—
Leah Lu,
Rolling Stone,
7 Apr. 2025
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His heartbroken wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, and their son, both U.S. citizens, have sued the government demanding his return.—
Rebecca Morin,
USA Today,
4 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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But Atletico regained a foothold and deservedly equalised around the half-hour mark, when Alvarez produced his own curling effort past the despairing dive of Madrid’s ex-Atleti No 1 Thibaut Courtois.—
Dermot Corrigan,
New York Times,
4 Apr. 2025
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Reduced to occasionally doing commercials for used cars, and spending most of his days drinking, despairing, and sporadically playing Russian roulette in a retirement home for actors, the curmudgeonly Montana has a death wish that only sheer luck has kept him from fulfilling.—
Joe Leydon,
Variety,
5 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Before Minecraft, the turnout for major films at the box office has been middling to miserable.—
Tim Lammers,
Forbes.com,
9 Apr. 2025
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Daryl was born in 1952, four years after the club’s last championship and just in time for four decades of miserable baseball on the lakeshore.—
Zack Meisel,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Despondent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/despondent. Accessed 13 Apr. 2025.
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