A state of feeling hopeless, discouraged, or deeply sad.
From 'despond' plus the suffix '-ence', which creates abstract nouns indicating a state or quality. The suffix choice (-ence rather than -ency) reflects the more formal, philosophical usage of the term.
Despondence appears in philosophy and psychology texts as distinct from depression—it suggests a reasoned loss of hope based on circumstances, rather than a clinical mental state.
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