despondence
Loss of hope
Despondence is a state of dejection or loss of hope, the condition of being despondent.
The word is rarer than despondency, which means the same thing: His despondence deepened as months passed without work.
Both describe a profound discouragement that saps motivation and spirit.
State without hope
- gloomPervasive dimness or dejection
- desperationUtter loss of hope
- anguishIntense mental suffering
- miseryIntense prolonged distress
dejection · desolation · forlornness · bleakness · wretchedness · disconsolation · heartache · woe
State of emotional pain
- gloomPervasive dimness or dejection
- wistfulnessTender sadness for absence
- pensivenessReflective, slightly sad mood
- mournfulnessQuality of deep grief
somberness · heaviness · low spirits · doldrums · blues · downheartedness · glumness · moodiness
Loss of hope or confidence
- dismayDistressed loss of courage
- disillusionmentBitter loss of faith
- demoralizationLoss of confidence and hope
- disappointmentSadness from unmet expectations
letdown · disenchantment · deflation · defeatism · loss of hope · broken spirit · crushed spirit · flagging
Complete yielding to demands
- surrenderCease resistance, yield
- resignationVoluntary relinquishment of position
- succumbingCeasing to resist
- yieldingBending under pressure
collapse · breakdown · overwhelm · crushed · beaten down · overcome · vanquished · subdued
hopelessness
State without hope
- gloomPervasive dimness or dejection
- desperationUtter loss of hope
- anguishIntense mental suffering
misery · dejection · desolation · forlornness · bleakness · wretchedness · disconsolation · heartache · woe · sorrow
sadness
State of emotional pain
- gloomPervasive dimness or dejection
- wistfulnessTender sadness for absence
- pensivenessReflective, slightly sad mood
mournfulness · somberness · heaviness · low spirits · doldrums · blues · downheartedness · glumness · moodiness · listlessness
disheartenment
Loss of hope or confidence
- dismayDistressed loss of courage
- disillusionmentBitter loss of faith
- demoralizationLoss of confidence and hope
disappointment · letdown · disenchantment · deflation · defeatism · loss of hope · broken spirit · crushed spirit · flagging · faltering
capitulation
Complete yielding to demands
- surrenderCease resistance, yield
- resignationVoluntary relinquishment of position
- succumbingCeasing to resist
yielding · collapse · breakdown · overwhelm · crushed · beaten down · overcome · vanquished · subdued · demoralized
despondencehopefulness
Expectation of positive outcomes
optimism · hope · confidence · sanguinity · faith
despondenceelation
Intense triumphant joy
joy · euphoria · jubilation · exultation · ecstasy
despondenceexuberance
Lively, unrestrained enthusiasm
enthusiasm · vigor · zest · vitality · ebullience