despondentde‧spon‧dent /dɪˈspɒndənt $ dɪˈspɑːn-/ adjective 
Word Origin
Gill had been out of work for a year and was getting very despondent.despondent about He was becoming increasingly despondent about the way things were going.—despondency noun [uncountable]—despondently adverb
Word OriginWORD ORIGINdespondent
ExamplesOrigin:
1600-1700 Latin despondere ‘to give up, lose hope’, from spondere ‘to promise’EXAMPLES FROM THE CORPUS
Thesaurus- And for that reason it was senseless to be despondent.
- But none of the Cleveland players appeared despondent.
- Despite all its problems the Club had a strong will to succeed and was rarely despondent.
- From a distance of two weeks, the initial reaction to defeat also seems unnecessarily despondent.
- Tom Ripley had never really been despondent, though he had often looked it.
- We are more despondent and needy than ever!
- William exits fairly despondent and heads for the door.
Longman Language Activatora sad feeling► sadness
extremely unhappy and without hope: a sad feeling, caused especially when a happy time is ending, or when you feel sorry about someone else's unhappiness: · Her eyes were full of sadness.with (great) sadness: · I remembered with great sadness all the friends I had left behind.sense of sadness: · After her death, Charles felt a great sense of sadness and loss.
► unhappiness the unhappy feeling you have when you are in a very difficult or unpleasant situation: · After years of unhappiness, she finally decided to leave him.· There is no doubt that unhappiness contributes to ill health.· You've no idea what unhappiness you cause your parents when you say that you want to leave home.
► grief especially written great sadness that you feel when someone you love has died: · Thousands of people sent floral tributes as an expression of their grief.· He was overcome with grief when his wife died.
► depression a mental illness that makes someone feel so unhappy that they have no energy or hope for the future, and they cannot live a normal life: · The family had a history of alcoholism and depression.· Mild symptoms of anxiety and depression are often associated with social difficulties.deep/severe depression: · My father had suffered from severe depression for many years.
► the blues a feeling of sadness that is not very serious, that you get sometimes for no particular reason: get/have the blues: · I often get the blues in February, before the spring arrives.a fit of the blues: · It's very common for new mothers to have a fit of the blues after giving birth.the Monday/post-Christmas etc blues: · Most people know what it's like to have the Monday morning blues.
► misery great unhappiness, caused especially by living or working in very bad conditions: · The high interest rates caused misery for millions of people.the misery of something/somebody: · He talked openly about the misery of his marriage.· We cannot ignore the misery of the people in this country who are forced to live on the streets.
► melancholy written a feeling of sadness, especially one that continues for a long time: · He was a strange man, prone to melancholy and bouts of drinking.· Jake was fourteen and suffering from adolescent melancholy.
► sorrow written the feeling of being very sad, especially because someone has died or because terrible things have happened to you: · deep/great sorrow: · The deep sorrow she felt was obvious in the expression of her face.in sorrow: · He turned quickly away, more in sorrow than in anger.to somebody's sorrow: · Six weeks later we heard, to our great sorrow, that he had died.
► heartache a feeling of unhappiness and worry, that often continues for a long time and is usually caused by problems in your personal life and relationships: · Her relationship with Tyler had brought her a great deal of heartache.· Being unpopular at school can cause real heartache to children of any age.save/spare (somebody) a lot of heartache (=stop someone worrying and feeling unhappy): · If she had simply called them, her parents would have been spared a lot of heartache.
► despondency formal a feeling of unhappiness, especially because you have been very disappointed and feel that you cannot change a situation: · Robyn walked away from the hospital with a feeling of despondency.· The sense of well-being of the 1980s was replaced by a mood of despondency.gloom/doom and despondency: · The atmosphere amongst the workers was one of gloom and despondency.
► despair a feeling of great unhappiness, because very bad things have happened and you have no hope that anything will change: · I could see hunger, exhaustion and despair in their eyes.· There was a mood of despair about the quality of urban and industrial life.in despair: · Left all alone in her room, she was in despair.the depths of despair: · It seems that he had reached the depths of despair, and he finally took his own life.
Gill had been out of work for a year and was getting very despondent.despondent about He was becoming increasingly despondent about the way things were going.—despondency noun [uncountable]—despondently adverb