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
Synonym Usage
See desolate.
Other Word Forms
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
Explanation
Sniff, sniff, boo-hoo...use the adjective forlorn to express loneliness and feeling left out. When someone is forlorn, it means that they not only feel miserable but simultaneously desolate because they believe they are alone. Forlorn is a very old word in English, and in fact it comes from the Old English word forlesen and means "to lose completely." Synonyms for forlorn all have fairly sad meanings: disconsolate, pessimistic, despairing, despondent, abandoned, depressed, desperate.
Vocabulary lists containing forlorn
Holes
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The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 7
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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.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s so-far forlorn attempt to suppress long-term bond yields that rattled traders.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026
Near a bulldozer, the forlorn husk of a car hunkered in the midst of a store’s wreckage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026
Part-sculpted work and marble block, each has a tragic aspect to it, recalling John Greenleaf Whittier’s forlorn observation: “For of all sad words of tongue or pen, The saddest are these: ‘It might have been!’
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026
Russell slotted over the conversion and his late missed penalty was irrelevant as Scotland celebrated and Wales were left forlorn.
From BBC ● Feb. 21, 2026
Often, in her mind’s eye, she saw Neewo’s tiny makazins, forlorn in the firelight, as they sagged, tipped over when in his fever he kicked them off.
From "The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich
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.
