1
as in hopeless
emphasizing or expecting the worst
despairing predictions regarding the effects of global overpopulation
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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
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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
Michela Wrong, NBC news, 6 June 2025
The arc of the subject’s life is evoked through steadily darkening, tightening mood, with certain scenes and setups replicated to variously despairing effect, from tacitly shifting points of view.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 28 May 2025
Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 19 Oct. 2024
Meme-makers across America are despairing right now.
—Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for despairing
Adjective
Authorities have reduced cadet training from one year to a few months, with families back home receiving despairing phone calls from recruits who regard being dispatched to the Congo as akin to a death sentence.
—Michela Wrong, NBC news, 6 June 2025
The arc of the subject’s life is evoked through steadily darkening, tightening mood, with certain scenes and setups replicated to variously despairing effect, from tacitly shifting points of view.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 28 May 2025
Verb
These are the people who, despairing of finding their way out honestly, simply smash and bash their way through the corn willy-nilly.
—Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 19 Oct. 2024
Meme-makers across America are despairing right now.
—Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for despairing
Recent Examples of Synonyms for despairing
Adjective
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Nearly half of them reported feeling down, depressed or hopeless and experiencing sleep disturbances.—
Alexis Kayser,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Sep. 2025
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The movie stars Michael Johnston and Inde Navarrette in a story about a hopeless romantic who makes a wish that his long-time crush falls in love with him.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Parallel to this moment, Freddy Sodawallah (Manish Chaudhari), the seasoned and shrewd Bollywood producer who has been managing Aasmaan’s early career, and Jaraj Saxena (Rajat Bedi), a fading actor desperate for a comeback, investigate the truth on their own.—
Isadora Wandermurem,
Time,
18 Sep. 2025
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The government – desperate for good economic news before the November Budget – claims that investment will create some 7,600 jobs.—
Christian Edwards,
CNN Money,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s sudden passing in July left many grieving the beloved actor, but for his wife and young daughter, his death cut deeper.—
Amber Corrine,
VIBE.com,
16 Sep. 2025
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However, the organizations were giving the grieving mother time with her calf before disturbing her.—
Michael Nied,
PEOPLE,
16 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Huang, also a professional military strategist and university professor, told the Washington Examiner that his party sees the DPP’s posturing as a cynical move to build domestic support without considering the long-term consequences.—
Timothy Nerozzi,
The Washington Examiner,
16 Sep. 2025
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That has often been misinterpreted as a cynical endorsement of warfare.—
Andreas Kluth,
Twin Cities,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Kybella can be used as an alternative to surgery for patients who are unhappy with fat under their chin, also known as submental fullness, and have not seen improvement with diet and exercise, according to the manufacturers.—
Alyssa Goldberg,
USA Today,
18 Sep. 2025
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Folks felt exposed or excluded or some unhappy combination of both.—
Andrew Pasquier,
Them.,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
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That trend has continued in 2025, suffering an ankle injury in the team's season-opening game against the Chiefs.—
Reice Shipley,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Sep. 2025
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Some units on the Donetsk front are suffering from a shortage of drones.—
David Kirichenko,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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This one is trickier and sadder to think about.—
Brian Welk,
IndieWire,
12 Sep. 2025
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Composite image created by Newsweek shows two older people looking worried and a piggy bank with a sad face on its side.—
Aliss Higham,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Tahlequah previously made global headlines in 2018 for carrying a dead calf for over 1,000 miles across 17 days, demonstrating what researchers believe is mourning behavior among orcas.—
Adeola Adeosun,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Sep. 2025
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Campus police arrested a student at Texas Tech University in connection to an altercation with students who were mourning the death of Charlie Kirk, officials confirmed.—
Natalie Neysa Alund,
USA Today,
15 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Despairing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/despairing. Accessed 20 Sep. 2025.
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