hope against hope

verb

To continue to hope, even when what is hoped for seems unlikely or impossible.

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Meanings

verbhope against hope (third-person singular simple present hopes against hope, present participle hoping against hope, simple past and past participle hoped against hope)

present singular third person hopes against hope · participle present hoping against hope · participle past hoped against hope · past hoped against hope

  1. idiomaticTo continue to hope, even when what is hoped for seems unlikely or impossible.

    Would he be in time to rescue? He hoped against hope. At least he could be revenged, and in his wrath it seemed to him that he was equal to the task of wiping out the entire population of that terrible city.

    1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 206

Origin

Likely a paraphrase of the first few words of Romans 4:18.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Italian sperare nell'impossibile
  • sperare nell'impossibileto keep hoping even when the odds are against
Cite this entry
APA

hope against hope. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hope%20against%20hope

MLA

“hope against hope.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hope%20against%20hope. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hope against hope,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hope%20against%20hope.

Source: hope against hope on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.