hopeless

[ hohp-lis ]

adjective

1. providing no hope; beyond optimism or hope; desperate:

   a hopeless cancer diagnosis.

   Synonyms: incurable, remediless, irremediable

2. without hope; despairing:

   hopeless grief.

   Synonyms: dejected, disconsolate, forlorn

3. impossible to accomplish, solve, resolve, etc.:

   Balancing my budget is hopeless.

4. not able to perform, work, learn, or act as desired; inadequate for the purpose:

   As a poker player, you're hopeless.

hopeless

/ ˈhəʊplɪs /

adjective

1. having or offering no hope
2. impossible to analyse or solve
3. unable to learn, function, etc
4. informal.
   without skill or ability

Derived Forms

• ˈhopelessness, noun
• ˈhopelessly, adverb

Other Words From

• hope·less·ly adverb
• hope·less·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of hopeless¹

First recorded in 1560–70; hope + -less

Synonym Study

Hopeless, despairing, despondent, desperate all describe an absence of hope. Hopeless is used of a feeling of futility and passive abandonment of oneself to fate: Hopeless and grim, he still clung to the cliff. Despairing refers to the loss of hope in regard to a particular situation, whether important or trivial; it suggests an intellectual judgment concerning probabilities: despairing of victory; despairing of finding his gloves. Despondent always suggests melancholy and depression; it refers to an emotional state rather than to an intellectual judgment: Despondent over his failing career, he fell back into substance and alcohol use. At the end of her marriage, she became despondent and suspicious. Desperate conveys a suggestion of recklessness resulting from loss of hope: As the time grew shorter, he became desperate. It may also refer to something arising from extreme need or danger: a desperate remedy; a desperate situation. despair.

Example Sentences

South Korea's Democratic Party, the opposition to Yoon's conservative People Power Party, at the time labelled the president's "shameless attitude" as "hopeless".

From BBC

You can only ask for people to fight for hopeless causes for so long.

From Slate

It seemed hopeless at first, as the Dodgers fell behind 5-0 after three innings.

From Los Angeles Times

“I should be vital, beautiful, sexual, and desirable … I’m worried and lonely, alone, hopeless.”

From Salon

But homeless and hopeless, she spends her days struggling to serve her basic needs in a tiny hotel room in Romford, east London.

From BBC

Related Words

• desperate
• forlorn
• helpless
• impossible
• pointless
• sad
• tragic
• useless