despairing
/dɪˈspɛɹ.ɪŋ/adjective, noun, verb
despairing is spelled D-E-S-P-A-I-R-I-N-G: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 45,363rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, despairing means “Feeling, expressing, or caused by despair; hopeless” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in despairing?
| Letters | 10: D-E-S-P-A-I-R-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 45,363rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is despairing?
Despairing appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 45,363rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce despairing?
- UK /dɪˈspɛə.ɹɪŋ/
- UK /dɪˈspɛː.ɹɪŋ/
- US /dɪˈspɛɹ.ɪŋ/
Despairing has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-despairing.oga, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with despairing?
9 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as despairing from its last stressed vowel (/ɛɹɪŋ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of despairing
- despairings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does despairing mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Feeling, expressing, or caused by despair; hopeless.
noun
- 1
A mood or display of despair.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of despair
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does despairing come from?
From Middle English despeyringe, equivalent to despair + -ing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).