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Resign vs Despair - What's the difference?

resign | despair |

As verbs the difference between resign and despair

is that resign is to give up or hand over (something to someone); to relinquish ownership of or resign can be (proscribed) while despair is (obsolete) to give up as beyond hope or expectation; to despair of.

As a noun despair is

loss of hope; utter hopelessness; complete despondency.

resign

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) reisgner, (etyl) resigner, and its source, (etyl) .

Verb

(en verb)
  • To give up or hand over (something to someone); to relinquish ownership of.
  • * , I.39:
    • And if the perfection of well-speaking might bring any glorie sutable unto a great personage, Scipio'' and ''Lelius would never have resigned the honour of their Comedies.
  • (transitive, or, intransitive) To quit (a job or position).
    • I am resigning in protest of the unfair treatment of our employees.
    He resigned the crown to follow his heart.
  • (transitive, or, intransitive) To submit passively; to give up as hopeless or inevitable.
    • After fighting for so long, she finally resigned to her death.
    He had no choice but to resign the game and let his opponent become the champion.
  • * 1996 , Robin Buss, The Count of Monte Cristo'', translation of, edition, ISBN 0140449264, page 394 [http://books.google.com/books?id=QAa5l_8DNbcC&pg=PA394&dq=fate]:
    • Here is a man who was resigned' to his fate, who was walking to the scaffold and about to die like a coward, that's true, but at least he was about to die without resisting and without recrimination. Do you know what gave him that much strength? Do you know what consoled him? Do you know what ' resigned him to his fate?
    Synonyms
    * quit
    Derived terms
    * resignation * resign oneself

    Etymology 2

    (re-) + (sign)

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (proscribed)

    • Usage notes

    The spelling without the hyphen results in a heteronym and is usually avoided.

    Anagrams

    * reigns * signer * singer English contranyms English heteronyms

    despair

    English

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (obsolete) To give up as beyond hope or expectation; to despair of.
  • * Milton
    • I would not despair the greatest design that could be attempted.
  • (obsolete) To cause to despair.
  • To be hopeless; to have no hope; to give up all hope or expectation.
  • * Bible, 2 Corinthians i. 8
    • We despaired even of life.

    Noun

  • Loss of hope; utter hopelessness; complete despondency.
    • He turned around in despair , aware that he was not going to survive
  • That which is despaired of.

    • Synonyms

    * desperation * despondency * hopelessness

    Anagrams

    * aspired * diapers * praised