despair: [14] Etymologically, despair is literally ‘lack of hope’. The word comes via Old French desperer from Latin dēspērāre, a compound verb formed from the prefix dē-, denoting reversal, and spērāre, a derivative of the noun spēs ‘hope’. Its past participle, dēspērātus, produced English desperate [15], from which desperado is a 17th-century mock-Spanish coinage. => desperate
despair (n.)
c. 1300, from Anglo-French despeir, Old French despoir, from desperer (see despair (v.)). Replaced native wanhope.
despair (v.)
early 14c., from stem of Old French desperer "be dismayed, lose hope, despair," from Latin desperare "to despair, to lose all hope," from de- "without" (see de-) + sperare "to hope," from spes "hope" (see sperate). Related: Despaired; despairing; despairingly.
双语例句
1. Don't let yourself despair; this will only make matters worse.
不要想不开，这样只能使情况变得更糟。
来自柯林斯例句
2. I would overcome any weakness, any despair, any fear.
我要克服所有的软弱、绝望和恐惧。
来自柯林斯例句
3. As his energy drained away, his despair and worry grew.
当他的精力耗尽时，他的绝望和担心也增加了。
来自柯林斯例句
4. I was in the depths of despair when the baby was sick.
孩子生病时我陷入了绝望的深渊之中。
来自柯林斯例句
5. The night before the test I was overcome by fear and despair.