hopeless

[ hohp-lis ]
/ ˈhoʊp lɪs /

adjective

providing no hope; beyond optimism or hope; desperate: a hopeless case of cancer.
without hope; despairing: hopeless grief.
impossible to accomplish, solve, resolve, etc.: Balancing my budget is hopeless.
not able to learn or act, perform, or work as desired; inadequate for the purpose: As a bridge player, you're hopeless.

Origin of hopeless

First recorded in 1560–70; hope + -less

synonym study for hopeless

2. 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 ill health, he killed himself. 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 WORDS FROM hopeless

hope·less·ly, adverb hope·less·ness, noun

Example sentences from the Web for hopeless

British Dictionary definitions for hopeless

hopeless
/ (ˈhəʊplɪs) /

adjective

having or offering no hope
impossible to analyse or solve
unable to learn, function, etc
informal without skill or ability

Derived forms of hopeless

hopelessly, adverb hopelessness, noun