despair

 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++朗文当代英语 5++LDOCE 5++朗文 5++de·spair1 /dɪˈspeə $ -ˈsper/ ●●○ noun [uncountable]  1  HOPE#a feeling that you have no hope at all 绝望in despair She killed herself in despair. 她在绝望中自杀了。the depths of despair (=very strong feelings of despair) 绝望的深渊 The noise from the neighbours used to drive him to despair. 过去，邻居的噪音常常吵得他心烦意乱。to the despair of somebody To the despair of the workers, the company announced the closure of the factory. 令工人们感到绝望的是，公司宣布关闭工厂了。2  be the despair of somebody old-fashionedWORRIED to make someone feel very worried, upset, or unhappy 让某人感到担忧[心烦，痛苦] She is the despair of her teachers. 她是老师们最不省心的学生。

Examples from the Corpus

despair• I could see hunger, exhaustion and despair in their eyes.• Separation from someone you love can bring loneliness and despair.• As noted above, the Potion of Healing and the Amulet of Coal can also cause despair.• I could understand her despair at her homelessness.• Strong words which no one would contradict with confidence, even if despair was regarded as an emotion which should never be admitted.• Dan was in despair. Everything seemed to be going wrong.• Left all alone in her room, she was in despair.• A cry of despair was turned into a Declaration for Democracy.• It seems that he had reached the depths of despair, and he finally took his own life.• He gazed at the confusion around him and was overwhelmed by a feeling of despair.• Once, in a moment of despair, he snapped his Bible shut and squashed them to a paste.• There was a mood of despair about the quality of urban and industrial life.• They often remain in a state of despair that the world at large and their nearest friends and relatives treat them so badly.• The Raiders are realizing the depth of their despair, caused by losing three of their first four games.• The tears came, and rapidly dissolved her angry expression to one of utter despair.in despair• Snyder hanged himself in despair over problems in his marriage.despair2 verb [intransitive] formal  HOPE#to feel that there is no hope at all 绝望，感到无望 Despite his illness, Ron never despaired. 尽管疾病缠身，罗恩却从不绝望。despair of (doing) something He despaired of ever finding her. 他对找到她已经不抱任何希望了。despair of somebody My teachers began to despair of me. 我的老师开始对我绝望了。→ See Verb table

Examples from the Corpus

despair• He glared at her, despairing.• In fact, there is no reason for aging boomers to despair.• The music soothed her for a while but the needle stuck in a groove suddenly and she wept in response, despairing.• They despaired even more at his campaigning techniques.• You mustn't despair. Nothing is impossible.• Many physicists find themselves despairing of ever finding such a picture.• Kate despaired of ever seeing her husband again.despair of (doing) something• Some Cultural Studies writers, however, despair of being able to specify this relationship at all.• This is not a matter of poor teaching, for such students can be the despair of conscientious teachers.• By the end of the day, I despaired of ever learning to ski.• I hadn't seen her since that night at the Club and I was beginning to despair of ever seeing her again.• Another story: the emperor despairs of finding a horse able to run a thousand li.• Or did this particular teacher so despair of helping Harold that she wrote him off?• And yet I liked him, even when I half despaired of him.• It was during this period that the President began to despair of his cabinet.• I despair of you, boy.Origin despair2 (1200-1300) Old French desperer, from Latin desperare, from sperare “to hope”

de·spair1 noundespair2 verbChineseSyllable  

feeling a that hope no have you Corpus at

despair

I

de‧spair¹ /dɪˈspeə $ -ˈsper/ noun [uncountable]
1. a feeling that you have no hope at all
    in despair
    She killed herself in despair.
    the depths of despair (=very strong feelings of despair)
    The noise from the neighbours used to drive him to despair.
    to the despair of somebody
    To the despair of the workers, the company announced the closure of the factory.
2. be the despair of somebody old-fashioned to make someone feel very worried, upset, or unhappy:
    She is the despair of her teachers.
     

THESAURUS

   ▪ sadness a sad feeling, caused especially when a happy time is ending, or when you feel sorry about someone else’s unhappiness: Charles felt a great sense of sadness and loss. | I noticed a little sadness in her eyes.
   ▪ unhappiness the unhappy feeling you have when you are in a very difficult or unpleasant situation, especially when this lasts for a long time: After years of unhappiness, she finally decided to leave him. | She was a tense, nervous young woman, whose deep unhappiness was obvious to all those around her. | You do not know how much pain and unhappiness you have caused.
   ▪ sorrow written the feeling of being very sad, especially because someone has died or because terrible things have happened to you: There seemed to be nowhere to go to be alone with her sorrow. | His heart was filled with great sorrow after her death.
   ▪ misery great unhappiness, caused especially by living or working in very bad conditions: The cold weather is with us again and the misery of the homeless is increasing. | Thousands of families were destined to a life of misery. | The misery and pain he caused were, for him, merely a measure of his success.
   ▪ despair a feeling of great unhappiness, because very bad things have happened and you have no hope that anything will change: At the end of the month, she still had no job and was tired, frustrated, and close to despair.
   ▪ grief great sadness that you feel when someone you love has died: He was overcome with grief when his wife died.
   ▪ heartache a strong feeling of great sadness, especially because you miss someone you love: She remembered the heartache of the first Christmas spent away from her sons.
   ▪ 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: He slipped into a depression in which he hardly ate or even left his room.
   ▪ despondency formal a feeling of being very unhappy and without hope: She felt useless, and this contributed to her despondency.
   ▪ melancholy literary a feeling of sadness, that you feel even though there is no particular reason for it: Modigliani expressed his melancholy through his painting.

II

despair² verb [intransitive] formalto feel that there is no hope at all:
    Despite his illness, Ron never despaired.
    despair of (doing) something
    He despaired of ever finding her.
    despair of somebody
    My teachers began to despair of me.