despair
gb/dɪspˈɛɹ/ us/dɪspˈɛɹ/
B2
Inglese
~ 1900
Accezioni
0 accezioni
Sostantivo
B2
state
1
total absence of hope
A feeling that there is no hope at all.
Schema d'uso:
to be in despair
Errore comune:
Learners sometimes confuse 'despair' with 'depression'; 'despair' is an immediate feeling of no hope, while 'depression' is a longer-term mental health condition.
Sinonimi
hopelessness (More general term for lacking hope, not always as intense as 'despair'.)
Contrari
hope (The opposite mental state, involving expectation of a positive outcome.)
Collocazioni
in despair
|fall into despair
|cry in despair
|deep despair
|total despair
Temi
emotions
|mental health
|life challenges
|core_vocabulary
Esempi
- After losing his job, he fell into deep despair.
- She looked at the empty house in despair.
- The news filled them with despair about the future.
- He felt only despair when he thought about the situation.
- There was an air of despair in the room.
Esempi per chi studia
- She was in despair after the bad news.
- I felt despair when I lost my wallet.
- He sat in despair, not knowing what to do.
- The team was in despair after the game.
- They cried in despair when the plan failed.
Verbo
B2
action
2
to give up hope completely
To stop hoping for something completely.
Schema d'uso:
to despair of [something]
Errore comune:
Learners may misuse 'despair' as a transitive verb ('despair something'), but it is usually intransitive or followed by 'of'.
Sinonimi
give up hope (Informal phrase with the same meaning, less formal than 'despair'.)
Contrari
hope (To expect or desire something to happen.)
Collocazioni
despair of success
|never despair
|begin to despair
|despair completely
Temi
emotions
|life challenges
|core_vocabulary
Esempi
- We must not despair, even in difficult times.
- She began to despair of ever finding her lost cat.
- He despaired when he saw the damage to his home.
- Don't despair; things will get better.
- Many despaired of reaching an agreement.
Esempi per chi studia
- Do not despair; you can still win.
- I began to despair of finding my phone.
- He will not despair even if it is hard.
- They despaired when the rain came.
- We must not despair in hard times.
Grammatica
Forma base
despair
IPA
GB/dɪspˈɛɹ/
US/dɪspˈɛɹ/
Sillabe e accento
des - pair (2 sillabe)
Stress on 2nd syllable (pair)
Forme flesse
Noun
- Base: despair
- Plural: despair
Verb
- Base: despair
- 3rd Person Singular: despairs
- Present Participle: despairing
- Past: despaired
Famiglia di parole
Forms
despairs
verb
despairing
verb
despaired
verb
Related words
Advanced or less common
despairingly
adverb
Espressioni
despair of
1/dɪspˈɛɹ əv/
fixed phrase
lose hope about something specific
To feel that there is no hope for a certain thing or situation.
Esempi
- Many people despaired of finding survivors after the storm.
- I am beginning to despair of ever finishing this project.
in despair
1/ˈɪn dɪspˈɛɹ/
fixed phrase
feeling no hope at all
Feeling that there is no hope left.
Esempi
- She sat on the floor in despair after hearing the news.
- He looked at me in despair, unsure what to do.
to the point of despair
1/tə ðə pˈɔɪnt əv dɪspˈɛɹ/
fixed phrase
reaching total hopelessness
Reaching a feeling where there is no hope at all.
Esempi
- The constant failures drove him to the point of despair.
- She was pushed to the point of despair by the endless delays.