feckless
Americanadjective
-
ineffective; incompetent; futile.
feckless attempts to repair the plumbing.
-
having no sense of responsibility; indifferent; lazy.
adjective
Usage
What does feckless mean? Feckless describes an irresolute, weak, or ineffective action or person. Content warning: This article contains reference to some strong language.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of feckless
First recorded in 1590–1600; originally Scots, from feck ( late Middle English ( Scots ) fek, shortened from effeck, Scots form of effect ) + -less
Explanation
If a newspaper editorial describes a politician as feckless, you might wonder, "What is feck, and why doesn’t he have any?” In fact, the columnist is accusing the politician of being irresponsible and incompetent. Did you know that most varieties of English are in fact “feck”-less? They don’t contain a word feck, only the negative counterpart feckless. The “feck” in feckless began as a short form of effect used in the Scots dialect. So feckless essentially means "ineffective," but is also used to describe someone who is irresponsible, incompetent, inept, or without purpose in life.
Vocabulary lists containing feckless
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Into the Wild
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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.
In film and television, book clubs are portrayed as a way for women to briefly free themselves from the shackles of domestic responsibility, sticky children, feckless husbands.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026
In some regards this narrator, a husband and father, is Mr. Lerner’s most mature alter ego, but he often seems like the same schlemiel as the feckless grad student in “Leaving the Atocha Station.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 31, 2026
Ben Duckett can feel unlucky to be bowled by a scuttler from Scott Boland, yet Ollie Pope and Zak Crawley both played feckless drives to be caught and bowled by Michael Neser.
From BBC ● Dec. 6, 2025
Your husband won’t join you in therapy if you put pressure on him or threaten him with divorce or tell him that he is feckless if he does not come along.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2025
There was a commotion at the locker room door and the manager’s voice was raised in a shrill, feckless protest.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
