What does dejected mean?
Dejected is an adjective describing someone who is sad, dispirited, and low in spirits, most often as a direct result of a disappointment, failure, or setback. A person who is dejected has had their confidence or hope knocked out of them; the word suggests a slump in both mood and posture, which is why phrases like 'a dejected look' or 'he walked away dejected' feel so natural. It sits in intensity between ordinary sadness and devastation: a dejected student who failed an exam is upset and discouraged, but not necessarily crushed. The word derives from the Latin deicere, meaning 'to throw down', so its imagery of being emotionally cast to the ground is built into its very roots. Related forms include the noun 'dejection' (the state of low spirits) and the adverb 'dejectedly'. Dejected works comfortably in both formal writing and everyday speech, and its near-synonyms — downcast, disheartened, crestfallen — each carry slightly different shades of discouragement.
adjectiveSad and depressed in spirits; dispirited and crestfallen, typically after a disappointment or setback.
- Feeling sad, dispirited, or low in spirits, especially as a result of disappointment or failure.
"The team walked off the pitch, dejected after losing the final in the last minute."
"She gave a dejected sigh and turned away from the window."
"Despite months of preparation, he left the interview feeling utterly dejected."
When you're dejected, you've literally been 'thrown down' — the word comes from Latin deicere, the same root that gives us 'trajectory' and 'inject'.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of dejected
Dejected comes from the Latin verb deicere (also spelled dejicere), meaning 'to throw or cast down', formed from de- ('down') plus iacere ('to throw'). The word entered English in the late Middle Ages, initially carrying the literal sense of being cast down or lowered, before settling into its figurative sense of having one's spirits cast down. It shares the root iacere with words such as 'projectile', 'trajectory', 'inject', and 'conjecture', all of which involve some idea of throwing or casting.
Related word forms
How dejected is actually used
Dejected is a moderately formal adjective describing a visible or felt drop in mood. It is stronger than simply 'sad' but less intense than 'devastated', and it usually implies a specific cause — a failure, rejection, or disappointment — rather than a general disposition.
Easily confused with dejected
'Rejected' means having been refused or dismissed by someone else, while 'dejected' describes the resulting low-spirited emotional state.
'Defeated' means beaten in a contest or struggle, whereas 'dejected' refers to the sadness and loss of spirit a person feels, whether or not they actually lost.