dispair
/ˌdɪsˈpɛə(ɹ)/verb
dispair is spelled D-I-S-P-A-I-R: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 32 million words in written English, the 171,907th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, dispair means “To separate (a pair)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in dispair?
| Letters | 7: D-I-S-P-A-I-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 32 million words; the 171,907th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like |
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 dispair?
Dispair appears about once in every 32 million words in written English, the 171,907th 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 dispair?
- /ˌdɪsˈpɛə(ɹ)/
Dispair has 2 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).
Words people confuse with dispair
Sounds like: despair (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of dispair
- dispairs present, singular, he/she/it
- dispairing participle, present
- dispaired participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does dispair mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To separate (a pair).
Near-synonyms: unpair; decouple, uncouple
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Dispair in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense Translations:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | desparejar |
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 dispair come from?
From dis- + pair.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).