There is despondency and latent unrest. Corruption is rife.

A sense of despondency has set in that nothing can be done to stop it.

Despondent, he turned to writing for possible financial support, though he had difficulty thinking of stories to write.

It is, of course, dismaying that 60 years after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, so many governments disregard the principles that they endorsed so long ago.

One could despair the Bush administration has obviously wasted almost seven years during which it could have pursued a solution. We are now back to the starting point the Camp David and Taba talks flippantly abandoned in January 2001 are to be taken up again.

Not surprisingly, defectors nowadays describe an environment of social breakdown, petty crime, and a Darwinian struggle for survival. There is despondency and latent unrest.

Ms. Huff (Teach the Children International) said that over the past six years, she had watched as the men and women in the Saharan refugee camps had lost hope, leading to despondency and a breakdown in family structure.

With fear gripping consumers, companies, and countries worldwide, talk has turned from a moderate advanced country recession to a major world depression. A sense of despondency has set in that nothing can be done to stop it.