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.
This goes all kinds of wrong, setting off a viral brouhaha and turning the hapless Owen into an unwitting pariah.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
“Sherman’s March” loosely explored McElwee’s hapless search for love during a trip to his native South, where he planned on making a film about a Civil War campaign through the area.
From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026
But hearing it gives more context to the song's inscrutable title – borrowed from a phrase Lightbody's father had used about his son's hapless love life.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
In “Onegin,” portraying the title character’s hapless friend, Lensky, each made distinctly indelible impressions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
The old fire was there and the indelible image of Boobie towering over hapless tacklers.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
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.
