hapless
adjective
unlucky; luckless; unfortunate.
haplessness
-
a word derived from
hapless.
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.
New York went over half a century of misery and haplessness without a title.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
Irritable, neurotic, decent, confused and sardonic, Larry is a refreshing nod to the kind of spiky haplessness Jack Lemmon mastered.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 25, 2025
Pierce Brosnan and Ellen Barkin play the parental units with unabashed, even unhinged, broadness, against which Devine’s haplessness really sings.
From New York Times ● Jul. 6, 2023
And yet, on the page, under the right conditions, haplessness is the thing we gather around like a biomass stove and gently warm our hands over.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 26, 2022
Then I heaped upon my guards the most vehement reproaches, or betook myself to wailings on the haplessness of my condition.
From Wieland: or, the Transformation, an American Tale by Brown, Charles Brockden
