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
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.
Remember 2013, when West Brom striker Peter Odemwingie got in his car and drove 120 miles from Birmingham to London in the forlorn hope he would sign for Queens Park Rangers.
From BBC • Feb. 3, 2026
Only a certified Grinch would want to see Auggie left as anxious and forlorn at the end of the show as he is at his lowest moments.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 31, 2025
Auger-Aliassime reeled off five successive games against an increasingly forlorn Bublik, taking his first match point with a thumping cross-court forehand.
From Barron's • Nov. 1, 2025
Eight months ago, England were forlorn and distraught on the vast, imposing outfield of the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
From BBC • Oct. 28, 2025
If goats could be forlorn, Anya thought Zvezda looked very forlorn.
From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
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.
