hopeless

American  

[hohp-lis] / ˈhoʊp lɪs /

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 British  

/ 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

---

Related Words

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. See also despair.

Other Word Forms

• hopelessly adverb
• hopelessness noun

Etymology

Origin of hopeless

First recorded in 1560–70; hope + -less

Example Sentences

Is this a hopeless situation that we should simply accept and walk away from?

From MarketWatch • Mar. 30, 2026

But today I am tasked with the seemingly simpler but hopeless job of putting life back into writing.

From Slate • Mar. 20, 2026

Plus, the “Sing Sing” and “Euphoria” actor has advice for hopeless romantics.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 2026

"Nothing's come of it. It's kind of leaving this hopeless feeling, where you almost just think you're gonna check every day and never see anything," Long, the content creator, said.

From BBC • Mar. 8, 2026

By second grade, Kia was a hopeless romantic.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi

Related Words

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