The word 绝望 (juéwàng), meaning "despair" or "hopelessness", is formed through a vivid, almost pictorial idea. It combines the character 绝 (jué), which means "to sever", "to cut off", or "to exhaust", with the character 望 (wàng), which means "to gaze into the distance" or "to hope". Thus, the word conceptually paints the image of one's line of sight toward the future, one's hope or anticipation, being completely severed, cut off, or exhausted, leaving no path forward to look toward. It captures the moment when the horizon of possibility disappears.