hope against hope

hope against (all) hope

To continue to hope for something even though it seems unlikely to happen. I know she said that she wasn't going to come home for Christmas, but I'm hoping against hope she'll change her mind.
See also: hope
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

hope against (all) hope

to have hope even when the situation appears to be hopeless. We hope against all hope that she'll see the right thing to do and do it. There is little point in hoping against hope, except that it makes you feel better.
See also: hope
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

hope against hope

Hope or wish for with little reason or justification, as in I'm hoping against hope that someone will return my wallet. This expression, based on the biblical "Who against hope believed in hope" (Romans 4:18), was first recorded in 1813.
See also: hope
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

hope against hope

cling to a mere possibility.
1995 Bill Bryson Notes from a Small Island I plodded on, hoping against hope that there would be a pub or cafe in Kimmeridge.
See also: hope
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

ˌhope against ˈhope (that...)

continue to hope for something, even if this seems useless or foolish: It was a couple of days since the earthquake, but the family were still hoping against hope that their son was safe.
See also: hope
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

hope against hope

To hope with little reason or justification.
See also: hope
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.

hope against hope, to

To keep wishing for something even though the odds are against its coming about. This term can be found in the Bible, in Paul’s Epistle to the Romans (4:18): “Who against hope believed in hope, that he [Abraham] might become the father of many nations.” It has been a cliché since the late nineteenth century. See also hope springs eternal.
See also: hope
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • a change of heart
  • a mystery to (one)
  • appear to
  • able to do
  • able to do it
  • (one) can whistle for it
  • be (on) the wrong side of (an age)
  • be on the right/wrong side of 40, 50, etc.
  • a turn of phrase
  • a shoulder to cry on
References in periodicals archive
I knew nothing, yet I understood immediately that Hope Against Hope was considerably more than a memoir that begins like a thriller, on the night of May 13, 1934, when Nadezhda Mandelstam's husband, the poet Osip Mandelstam, is arrested by Stalin's secret police.
A culture of concealment: the artful warnings of Nadezhda Mandelstam
In Hope Against Hope, his wife cites his statement, "Thanks to the wonderful bounty of Christianity, the whole of our two-thousand-year culture is the setting of the world free for play, for spiritual pleasure, for the free imitation of Christ" (269).
Hope, resistance, and poetry in two Russian autobiographies
Hope Against Hope is a powerful apologia for the Christian hope in the transcendent fulfillment of history by the God of Jesus.
HOPE AGAINST HOPE: CHRISTIAN ESCHATOLOGY AT THE TURN OF THE MILLENNIUM
Now Clinton, Gore, and the Big Greens are rolling grassroots organizations and the poor old bamboozled American public, who hope against hope that someone up there is looking after the planet.
Slime green: the big environmental groups help Clinton sell out
What we're left with is the material expression of hope against hope.
Hi-yo silver: Cady Noland's America
Oh, and hope against hope that they go home with one of those beautiful golden masks...
ON THE BOX
ROBERTO MARTINEZ admits history may weigh heavy against his Wigan side as they hope against hope to avoid the traditional annual stuffing at Old Trafford.
ROBERTO MARTINEZ admits history may [...]
Executives at the magazine persuaded a work experience student and his friends to form the spoof indie band, Hope Against Hope, to test the power of internet music sites.
the Razz: ROCK AND ROLL CON; Fake band fool music guru McGee
It'll be tough, but we hope against hope and you never know."
Fans travel in style
We hope against hope but something tells me that when all's done, the people's share offer will provide rich pickings for the middle classes.
IRISH MAN OF THE PEOPLE: FAIR SHARE FOR THE POOR
"You hope against hope you will be able to secure the finance.
Sadness as bid to save loss-making pool sinks; Group to look at alternative uses for site