How to Use despondency in a Sentence

despondency

noun
  • This need not be a recipe for despondency.
    — Hussein Agha, New Yorker, 22 Aug. 2025
  • The car returned to the paddock and a sense of despondency set in.
    — Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 3 July 2017
  • The mood is largely one of despondency.
    — Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 28 Jan. 2026
  • This despondency arises less from the death of his partner, and more from the prospect of death itself.
    — Matthew Scogin, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024
  • Though there’s a question whether despondency isn’t his default state.
    — John Anderson, WSJ, 17 Aug. 2017
  • Just something to give me more hope and optimism rather than despondency.
    — Meghan Leahy, Washington Post, 11 Jan. 2023
  • What better way and what better place to start anew, and to park the despondency and chaos of the past couple of months?
    — Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2026
  • But, uh, do think like, uh, action is the, antidote to despondency.
    — Outside Online, 1 Oct. 2025
  • With the new year came waves of despondency pounding America, tweet by tweet, op-ed by op-ed.
    — Gil Troy, WSJ, 23 Jan. 2022
  • Jesus’ despondency in the teaser marks a stark contrast to those rejoicing with palm leaves in the air.
    — Erin Jensen, USA TODAY, 25 Nov. 2024
  • Back then, a senseless war in Afghanistan catalyzed despondency.
    — Washington Post, 29 Apr. 2022
  • The hallmarks of burnout are feelings of despondency, boredom and being stuck.
    — Tracy Brower, Forbes, 27 June 2021
  • But Ramona has seen some kind of light and is moving on, leaving Isaac in despondency.
    — John Anderson, WSJ, 17 Aug. 2017
  • But while some like Nazanin feel a despondency heading into the new year, for others, hope springs eternal.
    — Leila Gharagozlou, CNN Money, 20 Mar. 2026
  • But the open spaces between them express an urban despondency that’s hard to discount.
    — Justin Davidson, Curbed, 9 Sep. 2025
  • In the dressing room after the game, there was disappointment but no despondency.
    — James McNicholas, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2026
  • With four straight quarters of pretax losses overseas, there’s no shortage of despondency.
    — Washington Post, 31 Jan. 2019
  • Symptoms include severe mood swings and deep despondency as well as impulses that can impel a mother to harm herself or her child.
    — Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2021
  • But the fight itself has been left to Ukrainians, who have expressed a mixture of courageous resolve and despondency.
    — Yuras Karmanau, ajc, 6 Mar. 2022
  • And so, despondency has become a mainstay of Palestinian life.
    — Dalia Hatuqa / Ramallah, Time, 13 Sep. 2019
  • Last week, when the families of five victims gathered at Hussain’s house to talk about the attack, a sense of despondency filled the room.
    — Washington Post, 22 June 2021
  • George Bailey has lived a commendable life, but his despondency hides this reality from him.
    — Peter J. Travers, National Review, 30 Dec. 2023
  • Aloha and welcome to paradise, provided your idea of paradise is a weak mai tai to wash down a diffuse sense of festering despondency.
    — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 11 July 2021
  • Ulman said her heritage as a Ukrainian Jew keeps her from plunging into despondency.
    — Washington Post, 6 Apr. 2022
  • Ultimately the day ended for the Bears with a new wave of anger, embarrassment and despondency.
    — Dan Wiederer, Chicago Tribune, 29 Oct. 2024
  • Some view his dry, extremely no-frills delivery as a meme, but there’s a genuine despondency to his cadence and beat choices that hits home when his flows feel structured.
    — Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 26 June 2026
  • For a player who had just scored on his Bundesliga debut, Tillman was a portrait of despondency.
    — Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, New York Times, 2 Sep. 2025
  • A certain viewer could, of course, judge Benny for refusing to grow up, and dismiss his despondency as the self-centeredness of a child.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 17 July 2024
  • In Erbil, the KRG’s capital, the hint of spring in the air is long gone, and a certain despondency has set in.
    — The Economist, 10 Apr. 2021
  • And yet, despite the despondency evident in this transitional phase, the record has plenty of optimism about the future.
    — Carrie Battan, The New Yorker, 2 Sep. 2019

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'despondency.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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