hopeless

American  

[hohp-lis] / ˈhoʊp lɪs /

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.

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hopeless British  

/ 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

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Related Words

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.

Other Word Forms

• hopelessly adverb
• hopelessness noun

Etymology

Origin of hopeless

First recorded in 1560–70; hope + -less

Example Sentences

Is this a hopeless situation that we should simply accept and walk away from?

From MarketWatch • Mar. 30, 2026

"We felt hopeless," says Holm-Aderemi, describing how they took turns carrying out searches of the streets themselves.

From BBC • Mar. 22, 2026

After one too many summer months of hopeless applications, all I had was a job at a substitute-teaching agency, where I would be lucky to get work three days a week.

From Slate • Mar. 20, 2026

Plus, the “Sing Sing” and “Euphoria” actor has advice for hopeless romantics.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 2026

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

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood

Related Words

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