forlorn

American  

[fawr-lawrn] / fɔrˈlɔrn /

adjective

1. desolate or dreary; unhappy or miserable, as in feeling, condition, or appearance.

   Synonyms:

   comfortless, woebegone, helpless, pitiable, pitiful

   Antonyms:

   happy

2. lonely and sad; forsaken.

   Synonyms:

   solitary, lost, alone

3. expressive of hopelessness; despairing.

   forlorn glances.

4. bereft; destitute.

   forlorn of comfort.

   Synonyms:

   deprived

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forlorn British  

/ fəˈlɔːn /

adjective

1. miserable, wretched, or cheerless; desolate

2. deserted; forsaken

3. destitute; bereft

   forlorn of hope

4. desperate

   the last forlorn attempt

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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

In Rome - a weak mentality, a dominated scrum, a broken lineout, a defeated demeanour, an endgame of 29 forlorn phases in the rain.

From BBC

They looked so forlorn that I picked them up and carried them in my cap rather than leaving them for some passing skunk.

From Literature

Russell slotted over the conversion and his late missed penalty was irrelevant as Scotland celebrated and Wales were left forlorn.

From BBC

He performed a backflip for the crowd's entertainment, but it seemed like a forlorn call to the good times of only last week.

From BBC

Well, I guess I got so droopy and forlorn looking, Mama decided she wanted to see exactly what was going on in Ms. Myers’s classroom.

From Literature

Related Words

• depressed
• deserted
• desolate
• desperate
• despondent
• destitute
• helpless
• lonely
• miserable
• oppressed
• pathetic
• pitiful