• Strong's:
  elPIzo-, el-pid'-zo; from elPIS (1680).
  To expect or confide. KJV "(have thing) hope(-d) (for), trust".
• Zodhiates:
  From elPIS (1680), hope.
  To hope, expect with desire.
  1. Used transitively and in an absolute sense. (2 Cor. 8:5)
     • Followed by the aorist infinitive. (Luke 6:34; 23:8; Acts 26:7; Rom. 15:24; 1 Cor. 16:7; Phil. 2:19, 23; 1 Tim. 3:14; 2 John 1:12; 3 John 1:14)
     • Followed by the perfect infinitive. (2 Cor. 5:11)
     • Followed by HOti (3754), that, instead of an infinitive. (Luke 24:21)
     • See Acts 24:26; 2 Cor. 1:13; 13:6.
     • Followed by the accusative of thing, to hope for. (Rom. 8:24, 25; 1 Cor. 13:7)
  2. In the construction meaning to hope in someone, i.e., to trust in, confide in.
     • Generally followed by the dative. (Matt. 12:21)
     • Followed by eis (1519) with the accusative. (John 5:45; LXX: Is. 51:5; Ps. 145:15)
     • Followed by ePI (1909), upon, and the dative. (Rom. 15:12; 1 Tim. 6:17; LXX: Judg. 9:26; Ps. 44:6)
     • Followed by ePI (1909), upon, and the accusative. (1 Pet. 1:13; LXX: Judg. 20:36; Ps. 62:8, 10)
     • Spoken of those who put their trust in God, followed by eis (1519), in, with the accusative. (2 Cor. 1:10)
     • Followed by ePI (1909), upon, with the dative. (1 Tim. 4:10; LXX: Ps. 26:1 [cf. Is. 11:10])
     • With the accusative. (1 Tim. 5:5; 1 Pet. 3:5; LXX: Ps. 37:3, 5; Is. 11:10)
     • Spoken of trusting in Christ, followed by en (1722), in, with the dative. (1 Cor. 15:19; LXX: 2 Kgs. 18:5; Ps. 33:21)
• Mounce:
  GK 1827 (S 1679) Word occurs 31 times.
  • To hope, expect. (Lk. 23:8; 24:21)
  • To repose hope and confidence in, trust, confide. (Mt. 12:21; Jn. 5:45)
  • Desire, Verb No. 2: In general elPIzo- means "hope", though it sometimes denotes "desire, wish". The verb can be used to denote the act of desiring or wishing something where the outcome is uncertain.
    • Herod hoped to see Jesus perform a miracle. (Lk. 23:8; cf. a similar use in Acts 24:26)
    • Paul and John often write that they hope to see a person or congregation ... (e.g., Rom. 15:24; Phlm. 22; 2 Jn. 12; 3 Jn. 14)
    • ... even though they are sometimes clearly not certain that their plans will work out. (1 Cor. 16:7; 1 Tim. 3:14-15)
    • They do realize, however, that they are dependent on God to work out their plans, so they "hope in the Lord". (1 Cor. 16:7; Phil. 2:19, 23)
  • Hope, Verb No. 1: In general elPIzo- means "hope", though it sometimes means "desire, wish".
    • In several places, NT writers quote OT passages about hoping in the Lord, which essentially means trusting in the Lord. (Mt. 12:21; Rom. 15:12)
    • According to Paul, we should never put our hope or trust in wealth. (1 Tim. 6:17)
    • The most important sense of this verb is the firm conviction that because of Jesus' resurrection from the dead, we can have confidence as we face the future. (Rom. 8:24-25; 1 Cor 15:19)
    • This sense of confident expectation is used when the NT writers speak about hoping in God or in Jesus. (Heb. 11:1; 1 Tim. 4:10; 1 Pet. 1:13)
  • Wish, Verb No. 1.
• Vine's:
  • Hope, Verb No. 1, to hope.
    • Is not infrequently translated in the AV by the verb to trust; the RV adheres to some form of the verb to hope. (John 5:45)
    • "Moses, on whom ye have set your hope". (2 Cor. 1:10)
    • "On whom we have set our hope". (1 Tim 4:10; 5:5, 6:17; see also, e.g., Matt. 12:21; Luke 24:21; Rom. 15:12, 24)
    • The verb is followed by three prepositions:
      1. eis
         • Rendered "on". (John 5:45)
         • The meaning is really "in", as in "who hoped in God"; the hope is thus said to be directed to, and to centre in, a Person. (1 Pet. 3:5)
      2. epi, "on".
         • "On him shall the Gentiles hope", RV. This expresses the ground upon which hope rests. (Rom. 15:12; 1 Tim. 4:10; 5:5; 6:17)
      3. en, "in".
         • "We have hoped in Christ" RV, more literally, "we are (men) that have hoped in Christ". The preposition expresses that Christ is not simply the ground upon whom, but the sphere and element in whom, the hope is placed. The form of the verb (the perfect participle with the verb to be, literally, "are having hoped") stresses the character of those who hope, more than the action; hope characterizes them, showing what sort of persons they are. (1 Cor. 15:19)
  • Trust, Note: Wherever elPIzo-, to hope is translated to trust in the AV, the RV substitutes to hope. So proelpizo-, to hope before.
• Thayer's:
  1. To hope.
     • In a religious sense, to wait for salvation with joy and full confidence.
  2. Hopefully to trust in.

• Zodhiates:
  Genitive elPIdos, feminine noun.
  Hope, desire of some good with expectation of obtaining it.
  1. Generally. (Rom. 8:24, "in hope are we saved", as yet only an expectation, not an actuality; 2 Cor. 10:15; Phil. 1:20)
     • With a genitive of the thing hoped for. (Acts 27:20)
     • See Acts 16:19; 23:6, "of the hope and resurrection" indicating the hope of the resurrection; 26:6,7.
     • Of the person hoping. (Acts 28:20; 2 Cor. 1:7; LXX: Job 14:7; 17:15; Is. 31:2; Ezek. 37:11)
     • With paRA (3844), against or in spite of, with the accusative, par' elPIda, against hope, i.e., without ground of hope. (Rom. 4:18)
     • With ePI (1909), upon, and the dative, ep' elPIdi, literally on hope or in hope, i.e., with hope, full of hope and confidence. (Acts 2:26; see Rom. 4:18; 8:20; 1 Cor. 9:10; LXX: Ps. 4:8; 16:9)
     • By metonymy spoken of the object of hope. (Rom. 8:24, "hope that is seen is not hope" [see BLEpo- [991, I, B], to see])
     • In 1 Cor. 9:10, "should be partaker of his hope." See LXX: Job 6:8.
  2. Spoken especially of those who experience the hope of salvation through Christ, eternal life, and blessedness. (Rom. 5:2, 4, 5; 12:12; 15:4, 13, "the God of hope" means the author and source of hope, not the one who need hope; see 1 Cor. 13:13; 2 Cor. 3:12; Eph. 2:12; 4:4; 1 Thess. 4:13; 5:8; 2 Thess. 2:16; Titus 1:2, 3, 7; Heb. 3:6; 6:11; 10:23; 1 Pet. 1:3)
  3. Of a hope in or on someone, i.e., trust, confidence.
     • Followed by eis (1519), in. (Acts 24:15; 1 Pet. 1:21)
     • Followed by ePI (1909), upon, and the dative. (1 John 3:3)
  4. The Jews lived in hope of the coming Messiah. Theirs was a religion of hope. Jesus Christ declared that he was the hope of Judaism. ... Christ was the goal of the Law and, when He came, God's purpose of the Law was realized, for Christ is the better hope. (Heb. 7:19)
  5. The disciples comprehended, especially after the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, that Christ was indeed the fulfillment of the Law and, therefore, their hope was no more in the future but in the present.
  6. Throughout the Gospels we find Jesus calling attention to His own person and not to a coming Messiah. ... We have the promises of His resurrection, His perpetual spiritual presence, and His final return in glory.
     • We find Peter, for example, speaking of a living hope indicating that Jesus Christ, having been raised from the dead, was indeed not an unknown hope in an unknown future, but the living hope of believers, and as He lives so shall we live forever. (1 Pet. 1:3, 21)
     • The hope realized in Jesus Christ was:
       • Salvation. (1 Thess. 5:8)
       • Eternal life. (Titus 1:2; 3:7)
       • The glory of God. (Rom. 5:2; Col. 1:27)
       • The resurrection of the dead. (Acts 23:6; 24:15)
     • These blessings are all summed up in Jesus Christ Himself, the hope of the world realized. When we hope in Jesus, all these particular and specific blessings are included. This is why the Apostle Paul calls Him "our hope". (1 Tim. 1:1)
     • We speak of our hope being fixed in heaven, for Jesus Christ, who is our hope, is there now. The Apostle Paul speaks of our blessed hope as a coming liberator and King. (Titus 2:13)
     • Our hope is closely tied up in our future transformation. (1 John 3:2,3)
     • Even inanimate nature groans for the coming of our Lord in His ParouSIa (3952), Second Coming, having been subjected to vanity "in hope". (Rom. 8:20)
     • Thus the full realization of Christian hope will not be reached until the return of Christ; yet even now we as believers have a foretaste of the bliss that ultimately will be ours. Christ now dwells in us and in this indwelling Christ we have an earnest of final fulfillment of our hope. He is "the hope of glory". (Col. 1:27)
     • It is, therefore, clear that to be without Christ is to be without hope. (Eph. 2:12)
  7. Hope is one of the most distinctive marks of the Christian life in opposition to the hopelessness of the Gentile world. The conclusion of Paul's hymn of love speaks of hope not as something that is future, but as something that is not going to be needed in the future. "And now abideth faith, hope, charity (love), these three; but the greatest of these is charity." It is evident that the Apostle Paul here speaks of heaven and the graces that will survive our earthly existence. The word "greatest" (MEIzo-n[3187]) refers not to the inherent value of love, but to the continuation of its function in the future. Faith and hope, on the other hand, are aspects of the Christian's experience that are exercised only on this earth and will not be needed in heaven. Heaven will be the realization of these attributes to those having experienced the love of Christ and having responded in turn with love. To be with Christ and thoknow Him even as we are known now will be the finalization of our faith which was the basis of our hope. Faith and hope are based on something now unseen, but historically having existed in the person of Christ. Heaven will make that which is now unseen in the graces of faith and hope to become sight. (1 Cor. 13:13; 1 John 3:2, 3)
     • "These all died in faith" is almost equivalent to "these all died in hope". They "endured as seeing him who is invisible". (Heb. 11:13, 27)
     • Curiously, John has only one reference to hope, describing it as a motive to personal sanctification. (1 John 3:3)
     • "Fullness of hope" accompanies "fullness of faith" and "fullness of understanding. (Heb. 6:11; 10:22; Col. 2:2)
     • Hope stands sometimes for its object. (Eph. 1:18; Col. 1:5; Titus 2:13)
• Vine's:
  • Favorable and confident expectation. It has to do with the unseen and the future. Hope describes the happy anticipation of good, the ground upon which hope is based, and the object upon which the hope is fixed.

Some would render the word "to despair." While this is philologically admissible, it does not agree with the context. It requires one to add an unfounded idea of causation to the meaning of the word, as "causing no one to despair".

Broader Terms: Anticipation, expectancy, feeling, expectation, outlook, prospect, individual, mortal, person, somebody, someone, soul, supernatural, virtue, theological virtue, wish.