despair

== English == === Etymology === From Middle English dispeir, from Anglo-Norman despeir and Old French desperer (from Latin dēspērō, dēspērāre), or desesperer, from des- (“dis-”) + esperer (“hope”). See also desperate. Displaced native Old English ormōdnes (“despair”) and Old English ortrīewan (“to despair”). === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /dɪˈspɛə(ɹ)/ (General American, Canada) IPA(key): /dɪˈspɛɚ/ (General Australian) IPA(key): /dɪˈspeː(ɹ)/ Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ) Homophone: (weak vowel merger) dispair Hyphenation: des‧pair === Verb === despair (third-person singular simple present despairs, present participle despairing, simple past and past participle despaired) (transitive, obsolete) To give up as beyond hope or expectation; to despair of. (transitive) To cause to despair. (intransitive) To be hopeless; to have no hope; to give up all hope or expectation. [(often) with of] ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Noun === despair (countable and uncountable, plural despairs) Loss of hope; utter hopelessness; complete despondency. Synonyms: desperation, despondency, hopelessness; see also Thesaurus:hopelessness Antonyms: hope, respair That which causes despair. That which is despaired of. (Can we add an example for this sense?) ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Anagrams === Piedras, aperids, aspired, diapers, praised, pre-AIDS