forlorn

[ fawr-lawrn ]

adjective

1. desolate or dreary; unhappy or miserable, as in feeling, condition, or appearance.

   Synonyms: comfortless, woebegone, helpless, pitiable, pitiful

   Antonyms: happy

2. lonely and sad; forsaken.

   Synonyms: solitary, lost, alone

3. expressive of hopelessness; despairing:

   forlorn glances.

4. bereft; destitute:

   forlorn of comfort.

   Synonyms: deprived

forlorn

/ fəˈlɔːn /

adjective

1. miserable, wretched, or cheerless; desolate
2. deserted; forsaken
3. postpositivefoll byof destitute; bereft

   forlorn of hope

4. desperate

   the last forlorn attempt

Derived Forms

• forˈlornness, noun
• forˈlornly, adverb

Other Words From

• for·lornly adverb
• for·lornness noun
• unfor·lorn adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of forlorn¹

First recorded before 1150; Middle English foreloren “lost completely,” past participle of forlesen “to lose completely,” Old English forlēosan; cognate with Old High German firliosan ( German verlieren ), Gothic fraliusan; equivalent to for- + lorn

Word History and Origins

Origin of forlorn¹

Old English forloren lost, from forlēosan to lose; related to Old Saxon farliosan , Gothic fraliusan , Greek luein to release

Synonym Study

See desolate.

Example Sentences

By the time Podesta and Richmond had taken the stage, the party had stopped, people had left, and those who remained looked forlorn.

From Los Angeles Times

HUEHUETOCA, Mexico — In a forlorn stretch of high desert outside Mexico City, a dozen migrants trudged along beside a set of railroad tracks, hoping to jump on a freight train that would take them closer to the United States.

From Los Angeles Times

There were hopes in some quarters that DeSantis would moderate his policy thuggishness after his presidential campaign imploded in January, but his efforts to quash Amendment 4 suggests that the hope was forlorn.

From Los Angeles Times

What’s clear is that Alejandro has the ache in his voice that’s reminiscent of forlorn romantics like Pepe Aguilar and the timbre of Miguel.

From Los Angeles Times

If anyone has the leadership and baseball acumen to rebuild a forlorn franchise, it’s Washington.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• depressed
• deserted
• desolate
• desperate
• despondent
• destitute
• helpless
• lonely
• miserable
• oppressed
• pathetic
• pitiful