despair
Example Sentences
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See Examples For:
But remember, despair isn’t activism—it’s just another impediment to progress.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
She invests the song’s complex storyline of submission and rebellion with pointed irony here and genuine despair there.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
If despair is weighing you down, Miyazaki’s films and inheritors like “Avatar: The Last Airbender” are powerful antidotes.
From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026
It was one of many moments that Karina swung from hope to despair.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
Annabeth didn’t give in to despair easily, but as they walked, she wiped tears from her eyes, trying not to let Percy see.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
Insp Boiles despairs over parents buying them for children: "We do have parents attend a police station quite a lot, getting very, very upset that their child's £500 e-scooter has been seized."
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Marriage is the main topic, both the joys and despairs, in numbers that make ambivalence energizing, fun, poignant and, most important, resonantly true.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2024
When her TV show is canceled, the actress does what you might predict given the movie’s exaggerated look and tone: She despairs at what she sees in the mirror and reaches for an outrageous solution.
From New York Times ● May 24, 2024
Kakar despairs at the plight of Afghans who remain in Pakistan.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 28, 2024
Mr. Corcoran swung to and fro between euphoria and the wildest of despairs.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
But closer to the high-security perimeter, a crowd of worshippers despaired as police officers blocked their route.
From Barron's ● Jun. 7, 2026
The 28-year-old software engineer despaired of ever reaching America.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2025
In the early, chaotic days of the COVID-19 pandemic, transitional-kindergarten teacher Elizabeth Lam despaired.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 18, 2025
You despaired because buying merchandise—both Fanatics’ own and products it retails—did not satiate your appetite to do e-commerce with this company.
From Slate ● Mar. 7, 2025
The cats and dog drank from the toilets, having despaired of getting their water bowls filled every morning, and everyone in the family talked to one another at the top of their lungs.
From "Chasing Vermeer" by Blue Balliett
That cruel realization haunts the cash-strapped protagonist of English filmmaker Mark Jenkin’s transfixing, increasingly despairing “Rose of Nevada.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026
As wars multiply, Pope Leo’s aides aren’t despairing about the possibilities of diplomacy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 21, 2026
The angry, despairing look on team owner Lawrence Stroll's face in Bahrain said it all.
From BBC ● Mar. 3, 2026
But Nina soon found herself despairing, once she realized she could not leave her hiding place.
From Barron's ● Feb. 2, 2026
This idea plunged me into a reverie so despairing and frightful that even now, when the scene is on the point of closing before me for ever, I shudder to reflect on it.
From "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley
Vocabulary lists containing despair
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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A Long Walk to Water
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The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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