despair

B1 Topic:Emotions & Feelings

US /dɪˈspɛɚ/ UK /dɪˈspɛə(ɹ)/ See IPA manual

Freq #6027

Meanings

1

noun
The feeling of having lost all hope.

She was filled with despair when she heard the news.
2

verb
To lose all hope; to feel that nothing will get better.

Don't despair, things will improve soon.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the feeling of having lost... desperation hopelessness

Word family

Forms despaireddespairingdespairinglydespairs

Derived forms despairerdespairfulself-despair

Appears in

Phrases (2)

See all

Proverbs (1)

See all

Industry pays debts, while despair encreaseth them

Etymology

From Middle English dispeir, from Anglo-Norman despeir and Old French desperer (from Latin dēspērō, dēspērāre), or desesperer, from des- (“dis-”) + esperer (“hope”). See also desperate. Displaced native Old English ormōdnes (“despair”) and Old English ortrīewan (“to despair”).

*speh₁- Proto-Indo-European dispeir Middle English despeir xno desperer Old French despero Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Emotions & Feelings

External links

# despair

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /dɪˈspɛɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /dɪˈspɛə(ɹ)/
**Frequency rank:** 6027

## Meanings
1. The feeling of having lost all hope.
2. To lose all hope; to feel that nothing will get better.

## Examples
- She was filled with despair when she heard the news.
- Don't despair, things will improve soon.

## Derived Forms
- despairer
- despairful
- self-despair

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *speh₁-
- Root: dispeir
- Root: despeir
- Root: desperer
- Root: despero

## Etymology
From Middle English dispeir, from Anglo-Norman despeir and Old French desperer (from Latin dēspērō, dēspērāre), or desesperer, from des- (“dis-”) + esperer (“hope”). See also desperate. Displaced native Old English ormōdnes (“despair”) and Old English ortrīewan (“to despair”).

## AI Etymology
despair comes from Middle English dispeir, from Anglo-Norman despeir and Old French desperer (from Latin dēspērō, dēspērāre), or desesperer, from des- (“dis-”) + esperer (“hope”). See also desperate. Displaced native Old English ormōdnes (“despair”) and Old English ortrīewan (“to despair”). The historical chain includes Proto-Indo-European *speh₁-, Middle English dispeir, xno despeir, Old French desperer, Latin despero. Current senses include The feeling of having lost all hope and to lose all hope; to feel that nothing will get better. English relatives and later formations include despairer, despairful, self-despair.

## Topics
- Emotions & Feelings

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