hapless
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of hapless
Explanation
Use the adjective hapless to describe someone unlucky and deserving of pity, like the hapless car buyer who gives in to the fast-talking salesperson. The word hapless traces all the way back to the Old Norse word happ, meaning “chance, good luck.” Combine this with the suffix -less (“lacking”) and hapless means “unlucky” or “ill-fated.” A traveler who goes to Moscow and briefly gets lost on the subway? Just a tourist. A traveler who goes to Moscow, accidentally eats food he is allergic to, somehow loses all his money, and by chance gets on a train destined for Mongolia? Definitely hapless.
Vocabulary lists containing hapless
300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "H"
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Stargirl
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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.
Bernthal, who plays Sonny, has his own wayward machismo and hapless sensitivity, the very qualities that made Al Pacino unforgettable in the role of the bungling bandit with a Catholic conscience.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 29, 2026
German media have broadcast the hapless creature lying motionless in shallow water for hours on end, with men in diving suits splashing water on it using kayak paddles.
From Barron's • Apr. 23, 2026
If they were, it was from behind their sofas and between their fingers knowing City's juggernaut is starting to purr into gear as they swept aside hapless Chelsea in the second half.
From BBC • Apr. 12, 2026
It’s a faithful facsimile—with a singular ingredient absent: the soulful performance of Al Pacino in the central role of the hapless bank robber Sonny.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026
In consequence, as Smith later crowed, the hapless Mayflower spent several frigid weeks scouting around Cape Cod for a good place to land, during which time many colonists became sick and died.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
