Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

despair

/dɪˈspɛɚ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.82 in modern English

Syllables
des-pair
IPA
/dɪˈspɛɚ/
10
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To give up as beyond hope or expectation; to despair of.

Obsolete; Transitive verb

verb

To cause to despair.

Transitive verb

verb

To be hopeless; to have no hope; to give up all hope or expectation.

Intransitive verb

noun

Loss of hope; utter hopelessness; complete despondency.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

That which causes despair.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

That which is despaired of.

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Middle English dispeir, from Anglo-Norman despeir and Old French desperer (from Latin dēspērō, dēspērāre), or desesperer, from des- (“dis-”) + esperer (“hope”). See also desperate. Displaced native Old English ormōdnes (“despair”) and Old English ortrīewan (“to despair”).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: *speh₁-, dispeir, despeir, desperer, despero

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /dɪˈspɛɚ/
  • British English: /dɪˈspɛə(ɹ)/

Usage

Inflected Forms

despairs (present, singular) despairing (participle, present) despaired (participle, past) despaired (past) despairs (plural)

Derived Forms

despairer despairful

Phrases

compare and despair climate despair counsel of despair death of despair disease of despair pit of despair self-despair

Synonyms

desperation despondency hopelessness despair despond unhope wanhope

Homonyms

(weak vowel merger) dispair

Antonyms

hope respair

Rhymes With

their there where care they're air share hair fair wear square aware

Questions

How do you pronounce despair?
The recorded pronunciation is /dɪˈspɛɚ/.
What does despair mean?
To give up as beyond hope or expectation; to despair of.
Where does despair come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce despair

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “despair”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/dɪˈspɛɚ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “despair”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “despair” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.