despond

C2+ Topic:Emotions & Feelings

US /dɪˈspɑnd/ UK /dɪˈspɒnd/ See IPA manual

verb noun

Meanings

1

verb
to lose heart or hope; become dejected

Do not despond; the worst of the storm has surely passed.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to lose heart or hope;... despair mope languish grieve brood

Opposites

hope rejoice cheer

Word family

Derived forms despondency despondence despondent

Related forms respond correspond sponsor

Etymology

From Latin despondere ('to give up, lose heart', literally 'to promise away'), from de- ('away') + spondere ('to promise, pledge').

despondere Latin spondere Latin *spend- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Emotions & Feelings

# despond

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb, noun
**IPA (US):** dɪˈspɑnd
**IPA (UK):** dɪˈspɒnd

## Meanings
1. to lose heart or hope; become dejected

## Examples
- Do not despond; the worst of the storm has surely passed.

## Synonyms
- despair
- mope
- languish
- grieve
- brood

## Antonyms
- hope
- rejoice
- cheer

## Derived Forms
- despondency
- despondence
- despondent

## Related Forms
- respond
- correspond
- sponsor

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: despondere
- Root: spondere
- Root: *spend-

## Etymology
From Latin despondere ('to give up, lose heart', literally 'to promise away'), from de- ('away') + spondere ('to promise, pledge').

## AI Etymology
Despond is from Latin despondere ('to give up, lose heart', literally 'to promise away'), from de- ('away') + spondere ('to promise, pledge'). The ancestry passes through Latin despondere, Latin spondere, and Proto-Indo-European *spend-. The prefix de- often marks removal, reversal, or downward motion in Latin formations, helping to explain the word's surface structure. In present use as verb and noun, it means "to lose heart or hope; become dejected", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Related words include respond, correspond, and sponsor; derived forms include despondency, despondence, and despondent.

## Topics
- Emotions & Feelings

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