ˌslüəvdə̇ˈspänd, ˌslau̇əv-, -dēˈs- sometimes -ˈdeˌs-
Etymology: from The Slough of Despond, deep bog into which Christian falls on the way from the City of Destruction and from which Help saves him in the allegory Pilgrim's Progress (1678) by John Bunyan died 1688 English preacher and writer
: a state of extreme depression
the country was in the slough of despond — Manfred Nathan
men climbed out of the slough of despond on the ladder of Christian Platonism — Douglas Bush