To give up the will, courage, or spirit; to become dejected, lose heart.
(quote-book)|title=w:Aeneid The Aeneid of Virgil|publisher=|by=(w)|page=176|passage=Yet still despond not, but proceed Along the path where fate may lead.
Scott's Letters
I should despair, or at least despond.
John Locke
Others depress their own minds, anddespond at the first difficulty.
D. Webster
We wish that (..)desponding patriotism may turn its eyes hitherward, and be assured that foundations of our national power still stand strong.