as in grieved
to lose all hope or confidence
we despaired when we saw how little time we had left to complete our project
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Recent Examples of despaired
In her interview, Guthrie also despaired over the possibility that her fame could have made her mother a target for kidnappers, Page Six also reported.
—
Martha Ross, Mercury News, 26 Mar. 2026
The Herald’s competitors despaired of ever competing with that paper’s speedy acquisition of news, and one, the Journal of Commerce, eventually gave up and created a cooperative agreement with the Herald that would become instrumental in the creation of the Associated Press.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 Mar. 2026
Democrats rejoiced; Republicans despaired.
—Kevin Igoe, Baltimore Sun, 4 Feb. 2026
The news of her 23-year-old son’s execution shocked and despaired the world.
—Romina Ruiz-Goiriena, USA Today, 4 Oct. 2025
Anyone who ever despaired about their outstanding mortgage remaining virtually static despite months of repayments will relate.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 2 Sep. 2025
Martha Ross, Mercury News, 26 Mar. 2026
The Herald’s competitors despaired of ever competing with that paper’s speedy acquisition of news, and one, the Journal of Commerce, eventually gave up and created a cooperative agreement with the Herald that would become instrumental in the creation of the Associated Press.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 Mar. 2026
Democrats rejoiced; Republicans despaired.
—Kevin Igoe, Baltimore Sun, 4 Feb. 2026
The news of her 23-year-old son’s execution shocked and despaired the world.
—Romina Ruiz-Goiriena, USA Today, 4 Oct. 2025
Anyone who ever despaired about their outstanding mortgage remaining virtually static despite months of repayments will relate.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 2 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for despaired
Verb
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The whole country mourned her loss and grieved for her two young daughters, Ellie and Carrie, who were just 6 and 2 at the time.—
Madeline Mitchell,
USA Today,
21 Mar. 2026
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But anyone who has ever grieved knows there will be no closure for these families; there will be only an opening, a void where someone was and now isn’t.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The brothers had a disagreement a couple of years ago and their friendship has suffered a rift.—
R. Eric Thomas,
Denver Post,
6 Apr. 2026
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Ball suffered a foot sprain in the first half of the win over Illinois but also played through it.—
Paul Sullivan,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The Anantara Concorso Roma planned to change that last year, but it was cancelled at short notice as the Eternal City mourned the passing of Pope Francis.—
Ben Oliver,
Robb Report,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Tens of millions of Americans mourned the passing of Hulk Hogan in Clearwater last year.—
George Harris,
The Orlando Sentinel,
3 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Despaired.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/despaired. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.
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