desponding
Sinking into gloom
Desponding is the present participle of despond, meaning to lose heart or become dejected and hopeless.
Someone who is desponding has given way to discouragement, often after setbacks or prolonged difficulty.
The word carries a literary or old-fashioned tone; modern usage typically favors despairing or losing hope.
After months of rejection letters, she found herself desponding over her prospects.
Having lost heart
- disheartenedLost confidence or hope
- demoralizedStripped of confidence
- deflatedEmptied of pressure
- crestfallenSad from disappointment
dismayed · defeated · dejected · downcast · low · unmotivated · uninspired · daunted
Subdued, lasting sadness
- sorrowfulFilled with grief
- mournfulShowing or feeling grief
- dolefulExpressing deep sorrow
- woefulExtremely sad or pitiful
plaintive · wistful · elegiac · lugubrious · somber · pensive · heavyhearted · woebegone
Dull and depressing
- dismalDepressingly dark or dull
- overcastSky fully veiled
- darkAbsence of light
- broodingAnxiously dwelling on something
sullen · morose · saturnine · somber · funereal · sepulchral · gray · dour
Completely without hope
- futileIncapable of producing results
- bleakDreary and without cheer
- forlornSad and abandoned
- pessimisticExpecting negative outcomes
defeatist · fatalistic · nihilistic · desolate · inconsolable · irredeemable · lost · surrendering
dispirited
Having lost heart
- disheartenedLost confidence or hope
- demoralizedStripped of confidence
- deflatedEmptied of pressure
crestfallen · dismayed · defeated · dejected · downcast · low · unmotivated · uninspired · daunted · crushed
melancholy
Subdued, lasting sadness
woeful · plaintive · wistful · elegiac · lugubrious · somber · pensive · heavyhearted · woebegone · lachrymose
dreary
Dull and depressing
brooding · sullen · morose · saturnine · somber · funereal · sepulchral · gray · dour · cheerless
despairing
Completely without hope
pessimistic · defeatist · fatalistic · nihilistic · desolate · inconsolable · irredeemable · lost · surrendering · giving up
despondinghoping
Desiring with expectation
hopeful · optimistic · buoyant · cheerful · sanguine
despondingpersevering
Maintaining effort despite difficulty
rallying · undaunted · resolute · determined · steadfast
sponsor, response, responsible, respond, spouse, responsibility, responsive, responding, despondent