I. de ‧ spair 1 /dɪˈspeə $ -ˈsper/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable]
1 . a feeling that you have no hope at all
in despair
She killed herself in despair.
the depths of despair (=very strong feelings of despair)
The noise from the neighbours used to drive him to despair.
to the despair of somebody
To the despair of the workers, the company announced the closure of the factory.
2 . be the despair of somebody old-fashioned to make someone feel very worried, upset, or unhappy:
She is the despair of her teachers.
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THESAURUS
▪ sadness a sad feeling, caused especially when a happy time is ending, or when you feel sorry about someone else’s unhappiness:
Charles felt a great sense of sadness and loss.
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I noticed a little sadness in her eyes.
▪ unhappiness the unhappy feeling you have when you are in a very difficult or unpleasant situation, especially when this lasts for a long time:
After years of unhappiness, she finally decided to leave him.
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She was a tense, nervous young woman, whose deep unhappiness was obvious to all those around her.
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You do not know how much pain and unhappiness you have caused.
▪ sorrow written the feeling of being very sad, especially because someone has died or because terrible things have happened to you:
There seemed to be nowhere to go to be alone with her sorrow.
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His heart was filled with great sorrow after her death.
▪ misery great unhappiness, caused especially by living or working in very bad conditions:
The cold weather is with us again and the misery of the homeless is increasing.
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Thousands of families were destined to a life of misery.
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The misery and pain he caused were, for him, merely a measure of his success.
▪ despair a feeling of great unhappiness, because very bad things have happened and you have no hope that anything will change:
At the end of the month, she still had no job and was tired, frustrated, and close to despair.
▪ grief great sadness that you feel when someone you love has died:
He was overcome with grief when his wife died.
▪ heartache a strong feeling of great sadness, especially because you miss someone you love:
She remembered the heartache of the first Christmas spent away from her sons.
▪ depression a mental illness that makes someone feel so unhappy that they have no energy or hope for the future, and they cannot live a normal life:
He slipped into a depression in which he hardly ate or even left his room.
▪ despondency formal a feeling of being very unhappy and without hope:
She felt useless, and this contributed to her despondency.
▪ melancholy literary a feeling of sadness, that you feel even though there is no particular reason for it:
Modigliani expressed his melancholy through his painting.
II. despair 2 BrE AmE verb [intransitive] formal
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: desperer , from Latin desperare , from sperare 'to hope' ]
to feel that there is no hope at all:
Despite his illness, Ron never despaired.
despair of (doing) something
He despaired of ever finding her.
despair of somebody
My teachers began to despair of me.