forlorn
Americanadjective
-
desolate or dreary; unhappy or miserable, as in feeling, condition, or appearance.
- Synonyms:
- comfortless , woebegone , helpless , pitiable , pitiful
- Antonyms:
- happy
-
lonely and sad; forsaken.
-
expressive of hopelessness; despairing.
forlorn glances.
-
bereft; destitute.
forlorn of comfort.
- Synonyms:
- deprived
adjective
-
miserable, wretched, or cheerless; desolate
-
deserted; forsaken
-
destitute; bereft
forlorn of hope
-
desperate
the last forlorn attempt
Related Words
See desolate.
Other Word Forms
- forlornly adverb
- forlornness noun
- unforlorn adjective
Etymology
Origin of forlorn
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
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The tried and true route for Colombian traffickers is from the country’s Caribbean coastline, including towns near Panama and forlorn communities to the far northeast next to Venezuela.
Eight months ago, England were forlorn and distraught on the vast, imposing outfield of the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
From BBC
Eyes forlorn, the 72-year-old cut the figure of someone who had seen years of suffering and hardship.
From BBC
Receivers in hand, they’re reaching out--at all hours of the day and night, from nearly every continent on the globe--to make contact with this forlorn desert outpost.
From Los Angeles Times
That Love identified no sadness in the songs only makes it easier to understand why Wilson the lonely young pop star was writing tunes as openly forlorn as “In My Room.”
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
