Despairing
[dɪ'speərɪŋ]
Definition
(adj.) arising from or marked by despair or loss of hope; 'a despairing view of the world situation'; 'the last despairing plea of the condemned criminal'; 'a desperate cry for help'; 'helpless and desperate--as if at the end of his tether'; 'her desperate screams' .
Inputed by Cornelia--From WordNet
Definition
(p. pr. & vb. n.) of Despair
(a.) Feeling or expressing despair; hopeless.
Typed by Irwin
Examples
- And when, looking up, her eyes met his dull despairing glance, her pity for him surmounted her anger and all her other anxieties. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- The air was filled with groans and clashing of arms--the floors were slippery with the blood of despairing and expiring wretches. Walter Scott. Ivanhoe.
- There was neither pleasure nor exultation in Cassy's eyes,--only a despairing firmness. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- She met Gerty's lamentable eyes, fixed on her in a despairing effort at consolation, and the look brought her to herself. Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- A sorrowful indifference to existence often pressed on me--a despairing resignation to reach betimes the end of all things earthly. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- Thousands lie round the pool, weeping and despairing, to see it, through slow years, stagnant. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- Her father might be a heretic; but had not she, in her despairing doubts not five minutes before, shown herself a far more utter sceptic? Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell. North and South.
- Clym was very grave at the intelligence, but not despairing. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- Her quivering lips, her despairing heart refused to afford her voice to express our misfortune. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- Mrs. Bute did not augur much good to the cause from the sending of her son James as an ambassador, and saw him depart in rather a despairing mood. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- It found her despairing, it left her desperate--two different states. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- Lately, they very often wouldn't laugh, and he used to come home despairing. Charles Dickens. Hard Times.
- Jo gave a despairing groan, and Meg laughed outright, while Beth let her bread burn as she watched the fun with interest. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- I confided all to my aunt when I got home; and in spite of all she could say to me, went to bed despairing. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- Despairing, I had him removed to the pits, where he still is. Edgar Rice Burroughs. The Gods of Mars.
- She listened for an instant, threw up her hands with a despairing gesture, and vanished as suddenly and as noiselessly as she had come. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- When despairing African fugitives do the same thing,--it is--what _is_ it? Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- Quite despairing of making my mind clear to Wemmick on this point, I forbore to try. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- I remember pausing once, with a kind of sorrow that was not all oppressive, not quite despairing. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- With a despairing glance at her set, she obeyed. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- The despairing way in which my mother and I look at each other, as I blunder on, is truly melancholy. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- Act fourth displayed the despairing Roderigo on the point of stabbing himself because he has been told that Zara has deserted him. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- For a moment she remained motionless; then she raised on him eyes of such despairing dearness that he half-released her waist from his hold. Edith Wharton. The Age of Innocence.
- I got up despairing, and went out despairing. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- At length he put it down, as if despairing of success; and, leaning back in his chair, muttered: 'What a fine thing capital punishment is! Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
- But he is generally melancholy and despairing; and sometimes he gnashes his teeth, as if impatient of the weight of woes that oppresses him. Mary Shelley. Frankenstein_Or_The Modern Prometheus.
- Despairing of Spanish help, Columbus sent his brother Bartholomew to Henry VII of England, but the adventure did not attract that canny monarch. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- When unopposed they spread their ravages wide; in cases of danger they clustered, and by dint of numbers overthrew their weak and despairing foes. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
Typed by Irwin