despairing

/dis'peəriɳ/

Thân thiện

A man sits alone with a despairing expression on his face.

Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Feeling or showing a complete loss of hope; hopeless: Describes a state of utter hopelessness, where one sees no possibility of improvement or success.
   • Characterized by or arising from despair: Indicates that an action, expression, or situation is caused by or reflects a profound sense of hopelessness.

Usage

• Despairing is used to describe a person's emotional state, their facial expressions, their words, or the nature of a situation itself.
• It is a strong adjective, more intense than "sad" or "disappointed," conveying a sense of finality and deep anguish.
• It often modifies nouns like , , , , , , or .

Examples

• Describing a person's state or expression:
  • She gave a despairing sigh as she read the rejection letter.
  • His despairing eyes told the whole story of his defeat.
• Describing an action or sound:
  • The despairing cry of the lost child echoed through the woods.
  • He made one last, despairing attempt to fix the broken machine.
• Describing a perspective or situation:
  • The report presented a despairing analysis of the economic crisis.
  • They were in a despairing situation, with no food or water.

Advanced Usage

• "In despairing tones": speaking in a way that shows complete hopelessness.
  • He spoke in despairing tones about the future of the project.
• "A despairing of": (less common) a state of having given up hope regarding something specific.
  • Her despairing of ever finding a solution was palpable.

Variants and Related Words

• Despair (noun/verb): The noun form meaning "the complete loss or absence of hope," and the verb meaning "to lose or be without hope."
  • Noun: He was filled with despair.
  • Verb: She began to despair of ever seeing him again.
• Despairingly (adverb): In a manner that shows despair.
  • He looked despairingly at the ruined cake.

Synonyms

• Hopeless: Having no hope; offering no prospect of improvement or success.
• Desperate: Reckless from despair; having a great need or desire for something because of a hopeless situation.
• Forlorn: Pitifully sad and abandoned or lonely; appearing sad and lonely.
• Dejected: Sad and depressed; dispirited.

Antonyms

• Hopeful: Feeling or inspiring optimism about a future event.
• Optimistic: Hopeful and confident about the future.
• Confident: Feeling or showing certainty about something.
• Sanguine: Optimistic or positive, especially in a difficult situation.

Related Phrases and Idioms

• To be in despair: To be in a state of hopelessness.
  • After the accident, the family was in despair.
• To despair of something/of doing something: To lose all hope about something.
  • I despair of ever teaching him to be punctual. (Note: This uses the verb "despair," not the adjective "despairing.")

Học thuật

Adjective

1. arising from or marked by despair or loss of hope
   • a despairing view of the world situation
   • the last despairing plea of the condemned criminal
   • a desperate cry for help
   • helpless and desperate--as if at the end of his tether
   • her desperate screams

Từ đồng nghĩa

• desperate