hapless

[hap-lis]

adjective

1. unlucky; luckless; unfortunate.

   Synonyms: pitiable, pathetic, forlorn, wretched, woebegone, miserable, miserable

hapless

/ ˈhæplɪs /

adjective

1. unfortunate; wretched

Other Word Forms

• haplessly adverb
• haplessness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of hapless¹

First recorded in 1560–70; hap ¹ + -less

Example Sentences

On Sunday, the Rams welcome the seemingly hapless New Orleans Saints, who arrive with a 1-7 record.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

This has been a season chock-full of stunning, come-from-behind victories and the hapless New York Jets just proved that anybody is capable of pulling off a shock these days.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

PSG have been injury-hit and inconsistent this season, but once both teams were reduced to 10 men, they dominated their hapless hosts.

Read more on Barron's

Trundling up an ungainly lift to reach a second-story balcony seems like Woody Allen’s hapless bank robber trying to tunnel his way into vaults in “Small Time Crooks.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The title pair of Kiran Desai’s novel—two young people navigating their Indian identities in contemporary America—are each the subject of hapless matchmaking attempts by their respective grandparents.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• unlucky 
• woeful