despondingly


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de·spond

(dĭ-spŏnd′)
intr.v. de·spond·ed, de·spond·ing, de·sponds
To become disheartened or discouraged.
n.
Despondency: "The outward show of fight masked a spreading inner despond at the White House" (Newsweek).
[Latin dēspondēre, to give up : dē-, de- + spondēre, to promise; see spend- in Indo-European roots.]
de·spond′ing·ly adv.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
References in classic literature ?
He made several efforts to coax himself into a belief that he might still continue forward; but at length, shook his head despondingly, and said, that "as he had but one leg," it was all in vain to attempt a passage of the mountain.
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As if defeated in this childish attempt, he now sinks to the earth despondingly, beating his breast in well-acted despair; and then, starting to his feet all at once, and throwing back his head, raises both hands, like a school-boy about to catch a falling ball.
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'But, Dora, my love, if you will sometimes think, - not despondingly, you know; far from that!
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Mercy's eyes, resting eagerly on him while he was speaking, dropped again despondingly when he had done.
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She shook her head despondingly. 'If you knew all, you, too, would blame me - perhaps even more than I deserve - though I have cruelly wronged you,' she added in a low murmur, as if she mused aloud.
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"We shall never get through it," she said, despondingly.
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