despairing

Despairing means showing that you have given up all hope. Beyond disappointed, and past trying.

It describes looks, gestures and voices, so a despairing glance and a despairing shake of the head are both standard, and each communicates without words. It is stronger than dejected, since despair is the loss of hope itself rather than of one hope. The noun is despair, and the verb despair takes of. Sport uses despairing for a last hopeless attempt at a save.