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definitions

hopeless

[ hohp-lis ]
/ ˈhoʊp lɪs /
||
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adjective

providing no hope; beyond optimism or hope; desperate: a hopeless case of cancer.
without hope; despairing: hopeless grief.
impossible to accomplish, solve, resolve, etc.: Balancing my budget is hopeless.
not able to learn or act, perform, or work as desired; inadequate for the purpose: As a bridge player, you're hopeless.

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RELATED WORDS

forlorn, sad, tragic, useless, desperate, impossible, helpless, pointless, bad, cynical, dejected, demoralized, despairing, despondent, disconsolate, discouraging, downhearted, fatal, gone, ill-fated

Nearby words

  1. hopeful,
  2. hopeful monster,
  3. hopefully,
  4. hopeh,
  5. hopei,
  6. hopelessly,
  7. hopewell,
  8. hophead,
  9. hopi,
  10. hopkins

Origin of hopeless

First recorded in 1560–70; hope + -less
Related formshope·less·ly, adverbhope·less·ness, noun

Synonym study

2. Hopeless, despairing, despondent, desperate all describe an absence of hope. Hopeless is used of a feeling of futility and passive abandonment of oneself to fate: Hopeless and grim, he still clung to the cliff. Despairing refers to the loss of hope in regard to a particular situation, whether important or trivial; it suggests an intellectual judgment concerning probabilities: despairing of victory; despairing of finding his gloves. Despondent always suggests melancholy and depression; it refers to an emotional state rather than to an intellectual judgment: Despondent over ill health, he killed himself. She became despondent and suspicious. Desperate conveys a suggestion of recklessness resulting from loss of hope: As the time grew shorter, he became desperate. It may also refer to something arising from extreme need or danger: a desperate remedy; a desperate situation. See also despair.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for hopeless

British Dictionary definitions for hopeless

hopeless

/ (ˈhəʊplɪs) /

adjective

having or offering no hope
impossible to analyse or solve
unable to learn, function, etc
informal without skill or ability
Derived Formshopelessly, adverbhopelessness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for hopeless

hopeless

adj.

1560s, from hope (n.) + -less. Related: Hopelessly; hopelessness.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper