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| Main Entry: |
despair
 [dih-spair] 
|
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | give up hope |
| Synonyms: | abandon, be hopeless, despond, destroy, drop, flatten, give way, have heavy heart, let air out, lose faith, lose heart, relinquish, renounce, resign, surrender, take down, yield |
| Antonyms: | anticipate, expect, have faith, hope, wish for |
| Main Entry: | brokenhearted |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | devastated |
| Synonyms: | crestfallen, crushed, desolate, despairing, despondent, disappointed, disconsolate, grief-stricken, grieved, heartbroken, heartsick, heartsore, inconsolable, miserable, mournful, prostrated, sorrowful, wretched |
| Antonyms: | happy, lighthearted, pleased |
| Main Entry: | desperate |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | hopeless |
| Synonyms: | at end of one's rope, back to the wall, can't win, dead duck, despairing, despondent, desponding, downcast, forlorn, futile, gone*, goner, hard up, in the soup, in the toilet, inconsolable, irrecoverable, irremediable, irretrievable, no-chance, no-way, no-win, running out of time, sad, sunk, up against it, up the creek, useless, vain, wretched |
| Antonyms: | hopeful |
* = informal/non-formal usage
Example Sentences
- Even in the face of this downward spiral, the despairing have hoped.
- Many job-hunters quit, despairing of ever landing their quarry.
- But some have come from ambitious younger figures, despairing at their elders' inability to stop the rot.
| Main Entry: | despondent |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | depressed |
| Synonyms: | all torn up, blue*, bummed-out, cast-down, dejected, despairing, disconsolate, discouraged, disheartened, dispirited, doleful, down, downcast, downhearted, forlorn, gloomy, glum, griefstricken, grieving, hopeless, in a blue funk, in despair, in the pits, low, low-spirited, melancholy, miserable, morose, mourning, sad, shot down, sorrowful, woebegone, wretched |
| Antonyms: | cheerful, elated, happy, hopeful, spirited, up |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | disconsolate |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | depressed, unhappy |
| Synonyms: | bad, black, blue, cheerless, cold, comfortless, crestfallen, crushed, dark, dejected, desolate, despairing, destroyed, dispirited, distressed, doleful, down, downcast, downhearted, dreary, forlorn, gloomy, grief-stricken, heartbroken, hopeless, hurting, in pain, in the pits, inconsolable, low, melancholy, miserable, ripped, sad, somber, sorrowful, torn-up, woebegone, woeful, wretched |
| Antonyms: | cheerful, consoled, happy, solaced, soothed |
| Main Entry: | forlorn |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | hopeless, inconsolable |
| Synonyms: | abandoned, alone, bereft, blue*, cheerless, comfortless, cynical, defenseless, depressed, deserted, desolate, despairing, desperate, despondent, destitute, destroyed, disconsolate, down and out, dragging, forgotten, forsaken, friendless, fruitless, futile, godforsaken, helpless, homeless, in the dumps, lonely, lonesome, lost, miserable, oppressed, pathetic, pessimistic, pitiable, pitiful, solitary, tragic, unhappy, vain, weighed down, woebegone, wretched |
| Notes: | lonely adds to solitary a suggestion of longing for companionship, while lonesome heightens the suggestion of sadness; forlorn and desolate are even more isolated and sad |
| Antonyms: | cheerful, comforted, consolable, happy, hopeful, joyful, pleased |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | give in/give up |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | admit defeat |
| Synonyms: | abandon, back down, bail out, bow out, buckle under, capitulate, cave in, cease, cede, chicken out, collapse, comply, concede, cry uncle, cut out, desist, despair, drop, drop like a hot potato, fold, forswear, hand over, leave off, pull out, quit, relinquish, resign, stop, submit, surrender, take the oath, throw in the towel, waive, walk out on, wash one's hands of, yield |
| Antonyms: | fight, hold out, stand up to, withstand |
| Main Entry: | grief-stricken |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | sad, sorrowful |
| Synonyms: | anguished, cheerless, dejected, depressed, despairing, devastated, distressed, down, heartbroken, heartsick, heavyhearted, hurting, inconsolable, melancholy, miserable, morose, overcome, troubled, unhappy, woebegone |
| Main Entry: | heartsick |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | despondent |
| Synonyms: | all torn up, blue, bummed-out, dejected, depressed, despairing, disappointed, disconsolate, disheartened, down, forlorn, grieving, heavy-hearted, inconsolable, low, melancholy, mournful, sad, unhappy, woebegone |
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Copyright © 2012 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2012 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
