Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

wanhope

/ˈwɑnhoʊp/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables: wan-hope
IPA: /ˈwɑnhoʊp/

15

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Lack of hope; hopelessness; despair.

British usage; Archaic; Uncountable

noun

Vain hope; overconfidence; delusion.

Uncountable

Example Sentences

"Wanhope: a fine English word, suggesting unhope of Langland's story of the cats and the mice, and described in Ipotis,[…]"
"If[…]such good old English words as inwit and wanhope should be rehabilitated (and they have been pushing up their heads for thirty years), we should gain a great deal. (Collected essays, 1928, III.68)"
"Both despair and wanhope are generally defined as a complete loss or lack of hope and being overcome by sense of futility or defeat."

Etymology

From Middle English wanhope, equivalent to wan- + hope. Cognate with Scots wanhop, wanhope (“wanhope, despair”), West Frisian wanhope (“wanhope, despair”), Dutch wanhoop (“despair”).

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Prefix: wan
Root: wanhope

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈwɑnhoʊp/
British English: /ˈwɒnhəʊp/

Usage

Inflected Forms

wanhopes (plural)

Synonyms

despond unhope despair desperation despondency hopelessness wanhope pie in the sky pipe dream

Questions

How do you pronounce wanhope?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈwɑnhoʊp/.
What does wanhope mean?: Lack of hope; hopelessness; despair.
Where does wanhope come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce wanhope

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