despairfuladj.
/dɪˈspɛːfʊl/ Full of despair; hopeless, desperate. Marked by Johnson as ‘Obsolete’; revived in 19th cent.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > despair, hopelessness > [adjective]
ormodeOE
ortroweOE
aerwenec1275
wanlessa1300
desesperatc1384
despairedc1400
wanhopelyc1425
lornc1475
desperate1483
wanhope1549
hopelost1570
despairfula1586
forlorn1603
despairinga1616
hopelessa1616
unhopinga1628
lost1709
au désespoir1766
unanticipative1847
unhopeful1850
a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) i. sig. M6v That sweete, but sower despairefull care.
1614 W. Raleigh Hist. World i. ii. vii. §3. 338 That despairefull worke, of ioyning it [sc. Tyre] to the Continent.
1631 J. Mabbe tr. F. de Rojas Spanish Bawd vi. 67 Peace, thou despairefull fellow, lest Calisto kill thee.
1817 J. F. Pennie Royal Minstrel iii. 343 Thus to raise Expectancy in my despairful breast.
1891 Eng. Illustr. Mag. 9 177 His short, passionate, almost despairful cry.
Derivatives
despairfully adv.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > despair, hopelessness > [adverb]
wanhopefullyc1425
desperately1552
despairfully1604
hopelessly1616
despairinglya1634
lostly1660
unhopefully1840
1604 G. Babington Comf. Notes: Exod. i. (Exod.) xvi. 265 To haue men depend vpon his prouidence..and not wretchedly and despairefully to mucker vp what shal neuer doo them good.
1885 W. C. Russell Strange Voy. I. iii. 32 Thinking despairfully of the lonely hours.
despairfulness n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > despair, hopelessness > [noun] > loss of hope
desperance?c1225
wanhopinga1300
despairc1325
desperationc1366
desespeirc1374
desesperancec1374
despairing1489
desperateness1581
despairfulness1888
1888 Veitch in J. C. Knight Principal Shairp & Friends 203 His despairfulness regarding human reason in the theological sphere.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1895; most recently modified version published online June 2018).
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adj.a1586