Despairing and Melancholy

Despairing

Despairing adjective - Feeling or showing no hope.
Usage example: despairing applicants need to be reminded that most students are eventually accepted somewhere

Melancholy is a synonym for despairing in upset topic. In some cases you can use "Melancholy" instead an adjective "Despairing", when it comes to topics like dejected, hopeless.

Nearby Words: despair, despairingly, despaired

Melancholy

Melancholy adjective - Feeling unhappiness.
Usage example: she was a bit melancholy after her youngest child left for college

Despairing is a synonym for melancholy. You can use "Despairing" instead an adjective "Melancholy".

Nearby Words: melancholic, melancholia

Both words in one sentence

  • Black Sheep Hit ZZ Ward's single "Last Love Song," which has received solid airtime on radio stations, is a pretty traditional Breakup Song: slow, melancholy and despairing.
Cite this Source
Melancholy and Despairing. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 16, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/despairing/melancholy
Despairing & Melancholy. N.p., 2016. Web. 16 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/despairing/melancholy>.
Melancholy or Despairing. 2016. Accessed August 16, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/despairing/melancholy.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "despairing" and "melancholy" have occurred on timeline