despondency
/dɪˈspɒndənsi/noun
despondency is spelled D-E-S-P-O-N-D-E-N-C-Y: 11 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 73,203rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, despondency means “The loss of hope or confidence; despair or dejection” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of despondency is despondencies.
How many letters and syllables are in despondency?
| Letters | 11: D-E-S-P-O-N-D-E-N-C-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 6 million words; the 73,203rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is despondency?
Despondency appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 73,203rd 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 despondency?
- UK /dɪˈspɒndənsi/
Despondency has 4 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-despondency.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of despondency
- despondencies plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does despondency mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The loss of hope or confidence; despair or dejection.
- 2
A feeling of depression or disheartenment.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Despondency in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | désespoir , abattement |
| German | Verzagtheit, Mutlosigkeit, Verzweiflung, Verzagen , Niedergeschlagenheit |
| Spanish | desesperanza, desesperación, descorazonamiento |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does despondency come from?
From Latin dēspondentia, from dēspondēns + -ia. Equivalent to despondent + -ency.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).