hapless
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived 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.
The hapless man, Mr. de la Bédoyère writes, “sat by, unable or perhaps unwilling by virtue of his status and deference to do anything about the degrading spectacle.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026
And once the Browns drafted quarterback Baker Mayfield following a winless 2017 season, they finally seemed to have the type of promising young core that could rescue the hapless franchise.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 2, 2026
German media have broadcast the hapless creature lying motionless in shallow water for hours on end, with men in diving suits splashing water on it using kayak paddles.
From Barron's • Apr. 23, 2026
Yet, these supposedly most-promising stars are mostly hapless wannabes leaning on their skills in nunchucks and mime.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 26, 2026
Autumn is always the Sith—and I’m the hapless Jedi trying to stop her rise to power.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
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.
