Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Hopeless \Hope"less\, a.
   1. Destitute of hope; having no expectation of good;
      despairing.

            I am a woman, friendless, hopeless.   --Shak.

   2. Giving no ground of hope; promising nothing desirable;
      desperate; as, a hopeless cause.

            The hopelessword of ``never to return'' Breathe I
            against thee, upon pain of life.      --Shak.

   3. Unhoped for; despaired of. [Obs.] --Marston. --
      {Hope"less*ly}, adv. -- {Hope"less*ness}, n.

Source : WordNet®

hopelessness
     n : the despair you feel when you have abandoned hope of comfort
         or success [ant: {hopefulness}]