despond

English

Etymology

From Latin despondere ‘give up, abandon’, from de- + spondere ‘promise’.

Pronunciation

IPA: /dɪˈspɒnd/

Verb

despond (third-person singular simple present desponds, present participle desponding, simple past and past participle desponded)

To give up the will, courage, or spirit; to become dejected, lose heart.
- Scott's Letters
  I should despair, or at least despond.
- John Locke
  Others depress their own minds, [and] despond at the first difficulty.
- D. Webster
  We wish that […] desponding patriotism may turn its eyes hitherward, and be assured that foundations of our national power still stand strong.