All 6 Uses

despair
in
Seabiscuit, by Hillenbrand
(Auto-generated)

The most brash of peoples was seized by despair, fatalism, and fear.
Chpt 2.9

despair = a feeling of hopelessness or distress
Finally back in his stirrups and straightened out, Woolf despaired over his position.†
Chpt 2.12

despaired = lost hope
The stable hands, despairing of getting help to the track fast enough, fetched the only transportation on hand, a little runabout truck that the track starter used to motor around the course.
Chpt 2.15 *

despairing = losing hope
Despair rushed up under him like a riptide.
Chpt 3.22

despair = a feeling of hopelessness or distress
Pollard left the track in despair.
Chpt 3.22 *
Smith, Roger noted with despair, "had a slight, knowing smile."†
Chpt 2.14

Definitions:

(1) (despair as in: she felt despair)
hopelessness; or distress (such as extreme worry or sadness from feeling powerless to change a bad situation)
(2) (despair as in: do not despair)
lose hope or feel distress
(3) (despair as in: she was the despair of the team)
something that causes hopelessness or great distress
(4) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)