SELF-DESPAIR Synonyms: 76 Similar and Opposite Words

self-despair

noun

Definition of self-despair

as in sorrow

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-despair

Noun

But genuinely funny moments are rare, badly outnumbered by done-to-death musings regarding the mysteries of being alive and torturous melodramatic moments in which Klara dully absorbs the severity of Josie’s illness and Chrissy’s sorrow.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
Crystal’s deep and profound sorrow at the loss of his director and friend Rob Reiner, not to mention Robin WIlliams, are very much present in the show.

— Chris Jones, New York Daily News, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of sorrow

Noun

Tsai, the Stanford professor, has conducted research on how emotion in American culture puts value on trying to always feel positive and minimizing negativity and sadness.

— ABC News, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026
Survey findings About 28% of Gaston respondents reported moderate or higher levels of negative emotions such as sadness, anxiety, anger or boredom, compared with roughly 10% in Union, Venkitasubramanian said.

— Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 24 Oct. 2026

Definition of sadness

Noun

In the space of a few paragraphs, Ned will abandon and recover his child, bungle an extramarital affair, win and lose, experience ecstasy and dejection.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2026
Miller’s hands dropped quickly to his side in frustrated dejection.

— Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of dejection

Noun

With these blue collar parents’ grade-school-age son a tangibly quiet presence, a seemingly impassable unhappiness oozes from the opening scenes.

— Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026
But somehow, in the midst of all this frat-boy revelry, Ilya is able to outline his vision for the future, one in which AI will have solved numerous human problems, including eradicating not only cancer but also loneliness and unhappiness.

— Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of unhappiness

Noun

The vestiges of his fading memory flash by with a haunting plainness, the melancholy of all this Americana and the sadness of a mind ravaged by time strike the viewer plainly at the end of this maximalist piece of life-writing.

— Stephanie Wambugu, Vulture, 12 Oct. 2026
The question for me is whether or not Lloyd will also manage to capture the melancholy of a deceptively serious play, notwithstanding its reputation.

— Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 23 Sep. 2026

Definition of melancholy

Noun

In Denmark the fight against bodily oppression moved from the home to the streets.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Oct. 2026
Their goal was for the album to tell a story of radicalization, following a protagonist who shifts from complacency to an awareness of injustice and institutional oppression, and ultimately resolves to act against it.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of oppression

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“Self-despair.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-despair. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of self-despair

noun

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