Sentence:  They were self-conscious of their <WSD>disillusionment</WSD> and demoralization, and their spokesmen—the artists and journalists among them—publicized their cynicism so successfully that it came to be regarded as the mood of a whole decade. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A feeling of disappointment, akin to depression, arising from the realization that something is not what it was expected or believed to be, possibly accompanied by philosophical angst from having one's beliefs challenged.