despondency
noun
de·spon·den·cy
di-ˈspän-dən-sē 
: the state of being despondent or extremely low in spirits : dejection, hopelessness
sank into despondency while he was unemployed
Synonyms
- blue devils
- blues
- dejection
- depression
- desolation
- despond
- despondence
- disconsolateness
- dispiritedness
- doldrums
- dolefulness
- downheartedness
- dreariness
- dumps
- forlornness
- gloom
- gloominess
- glumness
- heartsickness
- joylessness
- melancholy
- miserableness
- mopes
- mournfulness
- oppression
- sadness
- sorrowfulness
- unhappiness
Examples of despondency in a Sentence
in despondency because he couldn't seem to settle into a lasting relationship
in their despondency they seemingly forgot that losing teams can become winning teams in a single season
Recent Examples on the Web
That realization, though, is key to Stephen’s curdling idealism in the film, a moral collapse that Gosling gives urgency and despondency.
—
Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 3 May 2024
In the late Stalin years, the Communist leadership propagated the cliché of Americans’ roaming Moscow with cameras and bribing children with candy to look sad to show the despondency of life in the Soviet Union.
—Andrei Kolesnikov, Foreign Affairs, 25 May 2023
Celebration turns to silent despondency, as the movie’s rousing highs are replaced by a purgatorial limbo, as though time were standing still.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 9 May 2024
None of these thoughts are expressed in words, but thanks to Ben’s impeccable performance, Meena brings even these complex ideas to life through her silent despondency and her yearning for human decency.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 18 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for despondency 
Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 3 May 2024
In the late Stalin years, the Communist leadership propagated the cliché of Americans’ roaming Moscow with cameras and bribing children with candy to look sad to show the despondency of life in the Soviet Union.
—Andrei Kolesnikov, Foreign Affairs, 25 May 2023
Celebration turns to silent despondency, as the movie’s rousing highs are replaced by a purgatorial limbo, as though time were standing still.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 9 May 2024
None of these thoughts are expressed in words, but thanks to Ben’s impeccable performance, Meena brings even these complex ideas to life through her silent despondency and her yearning for human decency.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 18 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for despondency
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'despondency.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near despondency
Cite this Entry
“Despondency.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/despondency. Accessed 7 Jul. 2024.
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