noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   Despondency. archaic, uncountable

Verb

1. 1
   To give up the will, courage, or spirit; to become dejected, lose heart. intransitive

   "Yet still despond not, but proceed Along the path where fate may lead."

2. 2
   lose confidence or hope; become dejected wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

despairabandon hopebecome suicidalbrooddespairdespair of

Example

More examples

"Yet still despond not, but proceed Along the path where fate may lead."

Etymology

From Latin dēspondeō (“give up, abandon”), from dē (“from”) + spondeō (“promise”).

Related phrases

slough of despond

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.