hopeless

[hohp-lis]

adjective

1. providing no hope; beyond optimism or hope; desperate.

   a hopeless cancer diagnosis.

   Synonyms: incurable, remediless, irremediable

2. without hope; despairing.

   hopeless grief.

   Synonyms: dejected, disconsolate, forlorn

3. impossible to accomplish, solve, resolve, etc..

   Balancing my budget is hopeless.

4. not able to perform, work, learn, or act as desired; inadequate for the purpose.

   As a poker player, you're hopeless.

hopeless

/ ˈhəʊplɪs /

adjective

1. having or offering no hope

2. impossible to analyse or solve

3. unable to learn, function, etc

4. informal,  without skill or ability

Other Word Forms

• hopelessly adverb
• hopelessness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of hopeless¹

First recorded in 1560–70; hope + -less

Synonym Study

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 his failing career, he fell back into substance and alcohol use. At the end of her marriage, 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.

Example Sentences

I could tell her how I feel overwhelmed by even the simplest task, or how hopeless I feel on a regular basis.

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“No hopeless case is truly without hope,” she replied without conviction, and pulled up a chair.

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“It is the Swanburne motto: ‘No hopeless case is truly without hope.’”

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At times they feel afraid, or lonely, or hopeless, just as the less plucky do; they simply happen to excel at keeping their spirits up in a pickle.

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Raimondo called the situation far from hopeless, noting that there is bipartisan recognition of the problem.

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Related Words

• desperate 
• forlorn 
• helpless 
• impossible 
• pointless 
• sad 
• tragic 
• useless