hapless
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- haplessly adverb
- haplessness noun
Etymology
Origin of 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.
It was an oval basket, woven with an interior funnel into which a hapless river prawn had swum.
From Literature
A week later they were dominant in going 21-0 ahead against Argentina and then hapless in conceding 33 points in the second half and losing.
From BBC
Baldwin was so hapless that he didn’t even know when he was near death.
From Los Angeles Times
This time her 343rd “charge” is a hapless 87-year old CEO oil tycoon K. J. Boone unwilling to pass over from the “baffling country” of terminal illness toward its “inevitable occurrence.”
From Los Angeles Times
After sailing virtually unscathed through most of the series, Rachel in particular gave a masterclass in deception by continually and subtly nudging the hapless faithfuls off the scent.
From BBC
Definitions 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.
