adj

hopeless

HOHP-lihs

adj

Without hope; expecting nothing good to happen.

"He felt hopeless after losing his job for the third time."

"The situation seemed hopeless until help arrived."

Offering no chance of a good result; desperate.

"It was a hopeless attempt to fix the old engine."

Completely lacking skill or ability at something.

"I'm hopeless at remembering names."

How to Use Hopeless

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishWithout any hope — or, informally, just very bad at something.

Common pairings

hopeless case hopeless at something feel hopeless

more hopeless comparative, most hopeless superlative

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Can you complete this real example?

He felt _____ after losing his job for the third time.

From hope + -less ("without").

desperate unhopeful forlorn

hopeful

abandoned forlorn sad despondent hopeful desperate

useless ageless wireless homeless tireless careless lifeless baseless clueless timeless loveless nameless

desperate unhopeful forlorn hopeful abandoned sad despondent