Definition of "despondency" []

• Depression of spirits from loss of hope, confidence, or courage; dejection. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The second reason for the despondency is the realization that this, at last, is a direct clash between the two giants."
• "Earlier, fruitless chemotherapeutic experiments often resulted in despondency, but now even the most pessimistic have gradually come to see the value of the results achieved."
• "The powers which I feel, and of which I have given promise, may mature, may stamp themselves in act; but the spirit of despondency is strong upon the future exile, and I fear they never will."