hopeless

hope-less · adjective

imported

Definitions

adjective

  1. 1.

    Feeling or causing despair; without hope.

  2. 2.

    Having no possibility of solution or success; impossible.

  3. 3.

    (Informal) Very bad at something; incompetent.

  4. 4.

    Incapable of being reformed or changed.

Phrases & expressions

  • •
    hopeless case — someone or something beyond help or improvement
  • •
    hopeless romantic — someone who idealizes love despite disappointments
  • •
    hopelessly in love — deeply and perhaps unrealistically in love

Related words

Antonyms: hopeful, optimistic, promising
See also: desperate, futile, hope, hopeful
Synonyms: despairing, desperate, futile, impossible

Etymology

From Middle English, formed from hope + -less (suffix meaning "without"). First recorded in the 16th century.