despondency

/dɪˈspɒndənsi/

//dɪˈspɒndənsi// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"despondency" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“despondency” is uncommon English (frequency #73,117 among 3,470 “D” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#73,117
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The loss of hope or confidence; despair or dejection.

Corpus desk

Index EN-despondency · despondency · English

despondency · rank #73,117 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #73,117
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH dentin

Nearest frequency peer: dentin (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “despondency”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “despondency” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for despondency
PropertyValue
Headworddespondency
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/dɪˈspɒndənsi/
Letters11
Frequency rank#73,117
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “despondency” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).despondencyfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “dentin” (#73,116), “destabilise” (#73,118), “debilitated” (#73,112). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “despondency” is #73,117. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

despondency is uncommon English at frequency #73,117 among 3,470 “D” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /dɪˈspɒndənsi/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

despondency doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin dēspondentia, from dēspondēns + -ia. Equivalent to despondent + -ency. The correct English form is despondency, spelled D-E-S-P-O-N-D-E-N-C-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The loss of hope or confidence; despair or dejection.
  2. 2
    A feeling of depression or disheartenment.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how despondency appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Not everyone succumbed to such nostalgia and despondency. Some saw the existential threat to Scots as a call to document what remained.
  2. He kissed her brow, and left her. She watched him unconsciously, till the winding walk hid him from her sight, and then sank back on her seat, every nerve relaxing from its high-strained excitement into utter and still despondency.

Etymology

From Latin dēspondentia, from dēspondēns + -ia. Equivalent to despondent + -ency.

This word in other languages

desesperanza(Español)désespoir(Français)Verzagtheit(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "despondency"?
"despondency" is spelled D-E-S-P-O-N-D-E-N-C-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /dɪˈspɒndənsi/.
What does "despondency" mean?
As a noun, "despondency" means: The loss of hope or confidence; despair or dejection.
How do you pronounce "despondency"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "despondency" is /dɪˈspɒndənsi/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "despondency"?
From Latin dēspondentia, from dēspondēns + -ia. Equivalent to despondent + -ency. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "despondency", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

destabilise#73,118debilitated#73,112clusterfuck#73,077Christiania#73,064

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list