despondency

/dɪˈspɒndənsi/ (bre, ipa) · /dɪˈspɑːndənsi/ (ame, ipa) · /di-ˈspän-dən-sē/ (ame, mw)

despondency — 名詞

1. a heavy, lasting feeling of sadness in which a person believes nothing will get

1.名詞C1
釋義

沮喪；絕望感

失去希望、提不起勁的長期低落情緒

a heavy, lasting feeling of sadness in which a person believes nothing will get better and loses the energy to try.

例句

After her third job rejection, Tariro sank into a quiet despondency that lasted for weeks.

在第三次求職被拒之後，Tariro 陷入一種安靜的沮喪，持續了好幾個星期。

collocation: sink into despondency

A deep sense of despondency settled over the village when the harvest failed for the second year.

村裡連續第二年歉收，整個村莊瀰漫著一股深深的絕望感。

collocation: a sense of despondency

同義詞
  • dejection

    very close synonym; slightly less heavy and less formal.

  • hopelessness

    focuses on the missing hope itself, not the sadness it causes.

  • gloom

    broader and often shared by a group or place; less personal.

  • melancholy

    literary; a quieter, more reflective sadness without the 'no way out' edge.

反義詞
  • hope

    the missing element that defines despondency.

  • optimism

    the settled outlook opposite to despondency.

  • cheerfulness

    the surface mood opposite to despondency.

文法句型

fall into despondency

a sense of despondency

用法筆記

Uncountable in most uses; takes 'a' only with a modifier ('a quiet despondency', 'a deep despondency'). Stronger and more formal than 'sadness' — implies loss of hope, not just low mood.

常見錯誤

❌I had a despondency about the test.
✅I felt despondent about the test.
💡despondency names a sustained state, not a passing reaction to one event; use the adjective for short-term feelings.