despairer

des·pair·er
D2E1S1P3A1I1R1E1R1
UK/dɪˈspɛːɹə/US/dɪˈspɛɹɚ/

noun

One who despairs.

Scrabble 12
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Meanings

noundespairer (plural despairers)

plural despairers

  1. One who despairs.

    Too quick despairer, wherefore wilt thou go?

    1866, Matthew Arnold, Thrysis A Monody
    2 more examples

    He chears the fearful, and commends the bold, / And makes deſpairers hope for good ſucceſs.

    1667, John Dryden, Annus Mirabilis: The Year of Wonders, 1666. […], London: […] Henry Herringman, […], →OCLC, stanza 242, page 61

    O despairer, here is my neck, / By God! you shall not go down! Hang your whole weight upon me.

    1855 July 4, Walt Whitman, “[Song of Myself]”, in Leaves of Grass, Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.: [James and Andrew Rome], →OCLC, stanza 40, page 45

Origin

From despair + -er.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

despairer. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/despairer

MLA

“despairer.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/despairer. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “despairer,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/despairer.

Source: despairer on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.