HOPELESS

hopeless

(adjective) (informal to emphasize how bad it is) beyond hope of management or reform; “she handed me a hopeless jumble of papers”; “he is a hopeless romantic”

hopeless

(adjective) without hope because there seems to be no possibility of comfort or success; “in an agony of hopeless grief”; “with a hopeless sigh he sat down”

hopeless

(adjective) certain to fail; “the situation is hopeless”

hopeless

(adjective) of a person unable to do something skillfully; “I’m hopeless at mathematics”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Adjective

hopeless (comparative more hopeless, superlative most hopeless)

Without hope; despairing; not expecting anything positive.

Giving no ground of hope; promising nothing desirable; desperate.

Without talent, not skilled

(of an adverse condition) Incurable.

Usage notes

• Nouns to which "hopeless" is often applied: case, situation, romantic, love, cause, person, despair, life, undertaking, alcoholic, man, endeavor, place, pain, agony, project.

Synonyms

• desperate

• unhopeful

Antonyms

• hopeful

Source: Wiktionary

Hope"less, a.

1. Destitute of hope; having no expectation of good; despairing. I am a woman, friendless, hopeless. Shak.

2. Giving no ground of hope; promising nothing desirable; desperate; as, a hopeless cause. The hopelessword of "never to return" Breathe I against thee, upon pain of life. Shak.

3. Unhoped for; despaired of. [Obs.] Marston.

– Hope"less*ly, adv.

– Hope"less*ness, n.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition