Synonyms of desperation

desperation

noun

ˌde-spə-ˈrā-shən 

as in despair

utter loss of hope

during the famine her desperation drove her to do things she wouldn't have normally considered

Synonyms & Similar Words

• despair
• sadness
• hopelessness
• sorrow
• depression
• melancholy
• agony
• misery
• despondence
• despondency
• forlornness
• oppression
• resignation
• slough of despond
• pain
• distress
• unhappiness
• sorrowfulness
• dejection
• gloom
• despond
• acceptance
• mournfulness
• joylessness
• self-pity
• gloominess
• dreariness
• blues
• dumps
• cynicism
• desolation
• pessimism
• blue devils
• doldrums
• dolor
• wretchedness
• woe
• mopes
• downheartedness
• self-despair
• dispiritedness
• disconsolateness
• woefulness
• dolefulness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• hope
• hopefulness
• optimism
• cheerfulness
• cheer
• mirth
• glee
• joy
• gayety
• elation
• ecstasy
• merriment
• exuberance
• gaiety
• joviality
• happiness
• sunniness
• euphoria
• jollity
• exultation
• exhilaration
• lightheartedness
• jubilation
• bliss
• rapture
• joyousness
• joyfulness
• gladness
• gleefulness
• mirthfulness
• blissfulness
• elatedness
• rapturousness

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of desperation

Matt Targett was an exception in January 2022, largely out of desperation and a lack of alternatives, while Lewis Hall’s loan-with-an-obligation-to-buy deal from Chelsea was essentially a permanent transfer in all but initial structure. —The Athletic Uk Staff, The Athletic, 13 Feb. 2025

San Diego could target him out of desperation after losing Ha-Seong Kim in free agency. —Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 7 Feb. 2025

And then there were the signings who, without wishing to be cruel, strayed dangerously close to being acts of desperation. —Daniel Taylor, The Athletic, 6 Feb. 2025

Yet, especially for women in these positions, the lines between deception, desperation, and delusion, which coexist in different ratios for each subject, are thin. —Judy Berman, TIME, 6 Feb. 2025