despair
dih-SPAIR
/dɪˈspɛər/
The complete loss or absence of hope; in philosophy, the reaction to recognizing that life lacks inherent guarantees.
Existential despair arises when we realize we cannot rely on external forces or fate to validate our existence.
The story behind the word. From Latin desperare ('to be without hope'). It entered English via Old French despairer, describing the total collapse of optimism.
Word relationships
- hopelessness: Hopelessness describes a feeling; philosophical despair is a structural state of identity crisis.
- hope: A feeling of expectation and desire for a positive outcome.
Commonly confused with
- grief: Grief is emotional sadness over a specific loss; despair is the loss of belief in future possibility.
Word family
- desperate (adjective): Feeling or showing extreme urgency and distress.
- desperately (adverb): In a manner driven by despair.
Collocations
- depths of despair
- plunge into despair
- existential despair
- driven to despair
Idioms & expressions
- slough of despair
Example sentences
- "Kierkegaard described despair as the sickness unto death, stemming from a fracture within the self." Philosophical writing
- "After weeks of failing rain, the farmers fell into quiet despair." General fiction
Memory hook
DESPAIR means DE-SPERARE (without hope). Stripped of hope.
When not to use
Do not use for passing sadness; it implies a total loss of hope or reliance.
Fun facts
- Spenser's The Faerie Queene features a famous character named Despair who tries to persuade knights to give up life.
Explore more words
despondent, desolation, desolate, forlorn, devastation, apathy
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