DESPONDENCY Synonyms: 116 Similar and Opposite Words

despondency

noun

di-ˈspän-dən-sē

Definition of despondency

as in sadness

a state or spell of low spirits in despondency because he couldn't seem to settle into a lasting relationship

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in despair

the state of being discouraged in their despondency they seemingly forgot that losing teams can become winning teams in a single season

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in desperation

utter loss of hope never once gave into despondency and self-pity during her long recovery from her injuries in the car crash

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of despondency Instead, a combination of internal disputes, instability around Alvaro Arbeloa’s position and the fact that several players are facing an uncertain future means the picture is one of discord and despondency. — Guillermo Rai, New York Times, 5 May 2026 At each meeting, trustees face outrage over the 1,000 pink slips issued to district staff and parent despondency over the closure of preschool programs and other services. — Jennah Pendleton, Sacbee.com, 23 Apr. 2026 But while some like Nazanin feel a despondency heading into the new year, for others, hope springs eternal. — Leila Gharagozlou, CNN Money, 20 Mar. 2026 There are delicate parallels in O’Halloran’s screenplay showing the different ways in which the Evans men deal with their despondencies. — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 13 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for despondency

Recent Examples of Synonyms for despondency

Noun

Beat shows how so many of the sounds that were prevalent in the mid-’90s contained a unique, end-of-the century sadness.

— Sadie Sartini Garner, Pitchfork, 4 Oct. 2026
People can experience grief, sadness, relief, conflict or combinations of these emotions after any pregnancy outcome.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of sadness

Noun

The tone creeps into despair as the scales fall from Sutskever’s eyes.

— E. Alex Jung, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2026
The cumulative effect of the bowl’s ambient violence (robbery, assault, and overdose abound) amounts to an open-air despair not unlike Fox News-style depictions of California as a wholesale war zone.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of despair

Noun

Without the timeout, where New York could have advanced the ball to midcourt, Stewart missed a desperation shot at the buzzer.

— ABC News, ABC News, 8 Oct. 2026
Yet seemingly out of desperation, the nominees also have included total head-scratchers like Coldplay, Florence + the Machine, Matchbox Twenty, the Eagles — the fuckin’ Eagles, man!

— Jem Aswad, Variety, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of desperation

Noun

The initiative’s goal is by 2030 to have empowered 3 million people to recognize the early signs of anxiety and depression, and take steps toward helping those.

— Jennifer Weil, Footwear News, 8 Oct. 2026
In addition to fentanyl, toxicology tests detected alprazolam, commonly known as Xanax; the muscle relaxant methocarbamol; and quetiapine, a medication primarily used to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and, in some cases, depression.

— Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of depression

Noun

Women are more likely than men to report severe depression and hopelessness following breakups, but men are three to four times more likely to commit suicide.

— George Loewenstein, Vogue, 28 Sep. 2026
This year's report finds that levels of persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness among high schoolers have fallen in recent years – from 42% in 2021, to 40% in 2023 and 33% in 2025.

— Rhitu Chatterjee, NPR, 23 Sep. 2026

Definition of hopelessness

Noun

The question for me is whether or not Lloyd will also manage to capture the melancholy of a deceptively serious play, notwithstanding its reputation.

— Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 23 Sep. 2026
On the one hand, there’s a fascination with collective joy and the forms of vernacular invention that aspire to it; on the other, there’s an underlying melancholy that points to the inevitability of isolation, an epistemology of loneliness.

— Pablo Larios, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of melancholy

Noun

Because so many of Gunn’s friends died in San Francisco, a city where Gunn had found happiness and freedom, then these elegies are also a monument to a time of communal sorrow and mourning.

— Colm Tóibín, Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026
Another decision that those who are rejected face, at least if anger is mixed in with sorrow, is where to direct that anger.

— George Loewenstein, Vogue, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of sorrow

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“Despondency.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/despondency. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of despondency

noun

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