hopeless
/ˈhoʊplɪs/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.71 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Without hope; despairing; not expecting anything positive.
Example Sentences
- "I am a woman, friendless, hopeless."
- "And he a prince; To marry him is hopeleſſe;"
- "Edward Churchill still attended to his work in a hopeless mechanical manner like a sleep-walker who walks safely on a well-known round. But his Roman collar galled him, his cossack stifled him, his biretta was as uncomfortable as a merry-andrew's cap and bells."
- "A gaoler struck him, pushing him back in place in the hopeless, helpless line of prisoners."
- "My mind is a camera / Camela mon camela ambra / It brings into focus / The dreams of kings / And even the hopeless"
- "He's a hopeless writer, but can draw very well."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-West Germanic *tōhopōnder. Old English tōhopa Old English hopa Middle English hope English hope Proto-Indo-European *lewh₁- Proto-Indo-European *lewHs-der. Proto-Germanic *leusaną Proto-Germanic *lausaz Proto-Germanic *-lausaz Proto-West Germanic *-laus Old English -lēas Middle English -les English -less English hopeless From hope + -less. Compare Swedish hopplös.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈhoʊplɪs/
- British English: /ˈhəʊplɪs/
Inflected Forms
more hopeless (comparative)
most hopeless (superlative)