hopelessness
Utter absence of hope
Hopelessness is the state of having no hope—the feeling that improvement is impossible and nothing will get better.
It suggests a deeper, more settled condition than mere disappointment: A sense of hopelessness settled over the town after the factory closed.
The word often appears in clinical contexts describing depression or despair.
Profound loss of hope
- anguishIntense mental suffering
- sorrowDeep emotional distress
- melancholySubdued, lasting sadness
- miseryIntense prolonged distress
dejection · heartache · woe · distress · suffering · grief · desolation · wretchedness
Disposition toward pessimism
- cynicismDistrust of human sincerity
- nihilismRejection of objective meaning
- defeatismAcceptance of inevitable failure
- gloomPervasive dimness or dejection
discouragement · disillusionment · skepticism · doubt · disbelief · mistrust · expectation · forecast
State of lacking meaning
- meaninglessnessLack of significance
- purposelessnessState of lacking intention
- uselessnessLack of practical value
- ineffectivenessFailure to achieve results
fruitlessness · vanity · absurdity · senselessness · powerlessness · impotence · helplessness · inadequacy
Consent to receive
- surrenderCease resistance, yield
- capitulationComplete yielding to demands
- submissionYielding to another's will
- acquiescenceUnresisting acceptance
yielding · fatalism · defeatism · passivity · apathy · indifference · numbness · detachment
State of lacking companions
- alienationState of being isolated
- abandonmentAct of leaving permanently
- forsakenCompletely abandoned or discarded
- solitudeState of being alone
estrangement · disconnection · rejection · exclusion · neglect · desolation · seclusion · friendlessness
despondency
Profound loss of hope
- anguishIntense mental suffering
- sorrowDeep emotional distress
- melancholySubdued, lasting sadness
misery · dejection · heartache · woe · distress · suffering · grief · desolation · wretchedness · torment
negativity
Disposition toward pessimism
- cynicismDistrust of human sincerity
- nihilismRejection of objective meaning
- defeatismAcceptance of inevitable failure
gloom · discouragement · disillusionment · skepticism · doubt · disbelief · mistrust · expectation · forecast · outlook
pointlessness
State of lacking meaning
- meaninglessnessLack of significance
- purposelessnessState of lacking intention
- uselessnessLack of practical value
ineffectiveness · fruitlessness · vanity · absurdity · senselessness · powerlessness · impotence · helplessness · inadequacy · worthlessness
acceptance
Consent to receive
- surrenderCease resistance, yield
- capitulationComplete yielding to demands
- submissionYielding to another's will
acquiescence · yielding · fatalism · defeatism · passivity · apathy · indifference · numbness · detachment · withdrawal
loneliness
State of lacking companions
- alienationState of being isolated
- abandonmentAct of leaving permanently
- forsakenCompletely abandoned or discarded
solitude · estrangement · disconnection · rejection · exclusion · neglect · desolation · seclusion · friendlessness · ostracism
- sufferingagony, anguish, misery, pain, torment
- depressionmajor depression, clinical depression, sadness, anhedonia, low mood
- emotional painemotional pain, emotional scars, hurt, pain, anguish
- existential dreadexistential dread, existential angst, existential anxiety, existential crisis, dread
- futilityfutile, futility, in vain, pointlessness, vain
- pessimismpessimism, nihilism, fatalism, despair, gloom
hopelessnesshope
Desire for good outcomes
hopefulness · optimism · expectancy · confidence · faith
hopelessnessjoy
Intense positive emotion
happiness · elation · euphoria · bliss · exhilaration
hopelessnessdetermination
Firmness of purpose
resolve · purpose · drive · ambition · motivation
hope, hopeful, hopeless, hoping, hopes, hoped, hopefully, hopelessly, hopefulness