From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdespairde‧spair1 /dɪˈspeə $ -ˈsper/ ●●○ noun [uncountable] 1 HOPE#a feeling that you have no hope at allin despair She killed herself in despair.the depths of despair (=very strong feelings of despair) The noise from the neighbours used to drive him to despair.to the despair of somebody To the despair of the workers, the company announced the closure of the factory.2 → be the despair of somebody
Examples from the Corpus
despair• I could see hunger, exhaustion and despair in their eyes.• Separation from someone you love can bring loneliness and despair.• As noted above, the Potion of Healing and the Amulet of Coal can also cause despair.• I could understand her despair at her homelessness.• Strong words which no one would contradict with confidence, even if despair was regarded as an emotion which should never be admitted.• Dan was in despair. Everything seemed to be going wrong.• Left all alone in her room, she was in despair.• A cry of despair was turned into a Declaration for Democracy.• It seems that he had reached the depths of despair, and he finally took his own life.• He gazed at the confusion around him and was overwhelmed by a feeling of despair.• Once, in a moment of despair, he snapped his Bible shut and squashed them to a paste.• There was a mood of despair about the quality of urban and industrial life.• They often remain in a state of despair that the world at large and their nearest friends and relatives treat them so badly.• The Raiders are realizing the depth of their despair, caused by losing three of their first four games.• The tears came, and rapidly dissolved her angry expression to one of utter despair.in despair• Snyder hanged himself in despair over problems in his marriage.despairdespair2 verb [intransitive] formal HOPE#to feel that there is no hope at all Despite his illness, Ron never despaired.despair of (doing) something He despaired of ever finding her.despair of somebody My teachers began to despair of me.→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
despair• He glared at her, despairing.• In fact, there is no reason for aging boomers to despair.• The music soothed her for a while but the needle stuck in a groove suddenly and she wept in response, despairing.• They despaired even more at his campaigning techniques.• You mustn't despair. Nothing is impossible.• Many physicists find themselves despairing of ever finding such a picture.• Kate despaired of ever seeing her husband again.despair of (doing) something• Some Cultural Studies writers, however, despair of being able to specify this relationship at all.• This is not a matter of poor teaching, for such students can be the despair of conscientious teachers.• By the end of the day, I despaired of ever learning to ski.• I hadn't seen her since that night at the Club and I was beginning to despair of ever seeing her again.• Another story: the emperor despairs of finding a horse able to run a thousand li.• Or did this particular teacher so despair of helping Harold that she wrote him off?• And yet I liked him, even when I half despaired of him.• It was during this period that the President began to despair of his cabinet.• I despair of you, boy.Origin despair2 (1200-1300) Old French desperer, from Latin desperare, from sperare “to hope” 