1
as in hopeless
emphasizing or expecting the worst
despairing predictions regarding the effects of global overpopulation
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in desperate
feeling or showing no hope
despairing applicants need to be reminded that most students are eventually accepted somewhere
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in grieving
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of despairing
Cora Engelbrecht,
New Yorker,
3 Apr. 2026
Premiering the first of eight episodes on Sunday, March 22, The Comeback’s shaggy, despairing, hilarious, and sometimes baldly sentimental third season spends its first two episodes running through all the horsemen of the Hollywood-pocalypse.
—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
20 Mar. 2026
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
31 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for despairing
Adjective
Rebin carries a despairing sense of hope in him, months later.
—
Cora Engelbrecht,
New Yorker,
3 Apr. 2026
Premiering the first of eight episodes on Sunday, March 22, The Comeback’s shaggy, despairing, hilarious, and sometimes baldly sentimental third season spends its first two episodes running through all the horsemen of the Hollywood-pocalypse.
—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
20 Mar. 2026
Verb
The book’s tone shifts from philosophical to playful to despairing to sensual, and on around again.
—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
31 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for despairing
Recent Examples of Synonyms for despairing
Adjective
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The 41-year-old Portuguese footballer managed to put two past a hopeless Uzbekistan, becoming the first player to score in six consecutive World Cups.
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The conflict feels contemporary without growing too cynical, and the core relationship stakes seem real without skewing hopeless.
Adjective
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Rescuers have been combing through the rubble of the hotel in a desperate attempt to save any survivors.
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The teen’s mother was so desperate for an update on her son’s health last year that his criminal defense attorney, Jerod Gunsberg, made an open plea in a Times article for probation officials to provide information.
Verb
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Sixty years later, young Alma Singer begins searching for the writer of her mother’s favorite book, hoping to bring romance to her grieving parent.
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The movie follows Gugino as a grieving woman who takes in her troubled nephew, but their lives are upended when an otherworldly entity begins hunting him.
Adjective
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His willingness to move to Rio de Janeiro upon taking the job endeared him to the cynical public, as did his decision to call up Neymar to his squad to quieten the noise the forward’s potential exclusion would have brought with it.
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Against the run of play, the Atlas Lions won a free kick near the corner of the box after Luc De Fougerolles was booked for a cynical challenge.
Adjective
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The decade was an unhappy panorama of inflation, gas shortages, military humiliation, and revelations of political corruption.
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On Tuesday, Paul urged Americans who are unhappy with the justices’ ruling to support his proposal.
Verb
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The bishop longs for those who are bereaved or suffering to feel a sense of God’s love there.
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Many Russian regions are suffering fuel shortages as a result, with people filming themselves waiting in long lines at gas stations.
Adjective
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Day broke, bathing everything in light, and so great was the vitality of the early-morning sun that even the unhappy city seemed to smile a wan, sad smile.
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But SpringHill really took off in 2020, two seasons into James’ Lakers term, when The SpringHill Company went public (and the Lakers won the sad COVID-bubble NBA Championship).
Verb
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Fitzsimmons said Swift's fans have spent years following the singer's love life, celebrating its highs and mourning its lows.
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Venezuelan football and the entire nation are in mourning.
Cite this Entry
“Despairing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/despairing. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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