despair
Example Sentences
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See Examples For:
Give me an example of how people were kind amid the despair of the 1960s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
"It brought back the fear, anxiety, and despair we experienced at the height of war," she said, requesting anonymity for security concerns.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
After days of despair, he said he made a different choice — to survive.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
We danced because grief without community becomes isolation, and isolation is where despair does its best work.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
The girl inside Penelope trailed off, and then her look of confusion melted into despair as she realized the truth.
From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland
When her TV show is canceled, the actress does what you might predict given the movie’s exaggerated look and tone: She despairs at what she sees in the mirror and reaches for an outrageous solution.
From New York Times ● May 24, 2024
Kakar despairs at the plight of Afghans who remain in Pakistan.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 28, 2024
Then Isabel’s despairs stack, pressing her to expand her inquiry beyond the United States and diagnose history’s gravest injuries.
From Salon ● Jan. 26, 2024
Now he despairs of the international community because it is not doing more to stop the fighting.
From BBC ● Jan. 7, 2024
Another story: the emperor despairs of Ending a horse able to run a thousand li.
From "Typical American" by Gish Jen
Still, he kept laboring toward a perfection he didn’t always reach but never despaired of reaching.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026
But closer to the high-security perimeter, a crowd of worshippers despaired as police officers blocked their route.
From Barron's ● Jun. 7, 2026
They mourned the loss of entertainment industry jobs and despaired over homeless people living in squalor.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2026
You despaired because buying merchandise—both Fanatics’ own and products it retails—did not satiate your appetite to do e-commerce with this company.
From Slate ● Mar. 7, 2025
Kuda clenched his little fist around the cap, and Tendai despaired of trying to explain why they couldn’t use it as money.
From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer
That cruel realization haunts the cash-strapped protagonist of English filmmaker Mark Jenkin’s transfixing, increasingly despairing “Rose of Nevada.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026
With the tiring Sale defence in disarray, Malins fed Calouri on the wing to dive over Warr's despairing tackle to leave Sharks boss Alex Sanderson with much to consider at the break.
From BBC ● Apr. 19, 2026
As wars multiply, Pope Leo’s aides aren’t despairing about the possibilities of diplomacy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 21, 2026
But Nina soon found herself despairing, once she realized she could not leave her hiding place.
From Barron's ● Feb. 2, 2026
Late in the despairing afternoon I stopped my truck and approached a majestic Maine state trooper.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
Vocabulary lists containing despair
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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A Long Walk to Water
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The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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