mass noun
- the complete loss or absence of hope绝望; 无望：
driven to despair, he throws himself under a train
他陷入绝望, 一头撞到了火车底下
in despair, I hit the bottle.
绝望中, 我砸掉了一个瓶子。
no obj.
- lose or be without hope失去希望; 没有希望：
we should not despair
我们不应该失去希望
he was beginning to despair of ever knowing
他开始放弃了了解这件事的希望
as adj. despairing he gave a despairing little shrug.他轻轻耸肩, 表示已没有希望。
短语
be the despair of
- be the cause of a feeling of hopelessness in (someone else)使（别人）感到绝望的人（或事）：
such students can be the despair of conscientious teachers.
这种学生让尽心尽责的老师们感到绝望。
派生词
despairingly
adverb词源
Middle English: the noun via Anglo-Norman French from Old French desespeir; the verb from Old French desperer, from Latin desperare, from de- 'down from' + sperare 'to hope'.