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.
Starting to sound forlorn, she says, “At this point, I’m just ready just to say, ‘stop tearing up my gates.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 14, 2026
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
Eyes forlorn, the 72-year-old cut the figure of someone who had seen years of suffering and hardship.
From BBC • Sep. 10, 2025
West Indies skipper Hope, and the man he succeeded in the form of Powell, at least showed some fight during what always looked to be a forlorn effort.
From BBC • Jun. 10, 2025
The octopus was flopped and all forlorn on the bottom sand, trying to pry open a scallop.
From "Crash" by Jerry Spinelli
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.
