hopeless

hopeless
[[t]ho͟ʊpləs[/t]]
1) ADJ-GRADED If you feel hopeless, you feel very unhappy because there seems to be no possibility of a better situation or success.

He had not heard her cry before in this uncontrolled, hopeless way...

The economic crisis makes jobs almost impossible to find and even able pupils feel hopeless about job prospects.

Derived words:
hopelessly ADV-GRADED ADV after v, ADV prep

I looked around hopelessly.

...a young woman hopelessly in love with a handsome hero.

hopelessness N-UNCOUNT

She had a feeling of hopelessness about the future.

2) ADJ-GRADED Someone or something thing that is hopeless is certain to fail or be unsuccessful.

I don't believe your situation is as hopeless as you think. If you love each other, you'll work it out...

A doctor is there to treat and to cure, not to dismiss anyone as a hopeless case.

3) ADJ-GRADED: oft ADJ at n If someone is hopeless at something, they are very bad at it. [INFORMAL]

I'd be hopeless at working for somebody else...

I was fine at sports, but pretty hopeless academically.

4) ADJ-GRADED (emphasis) You use hopeless to emphasize how bad or inadequate something or someone is.

I don't drive and the buses are quite hopeless...

Argentina's economic policies were a hopeless mess.

Derived words:
hopelessly ADV-GRADED usu ADV adj/-ed/prep, also ADV after v

The story is hopelessly confusing...

They were on the other side of Berlin and Harry was hopelessly lost...

By October 1990, when arrested, he was hopelessly in debt.


English dictionary. 2008.

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Look at other dictionaries:

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  • hopeless — index despondent, diabolic, disconsolate, futile, impossible, impracticable, incorrigible, inoperable ( …   Law dictionary

  • hopeless — 1560s, from HOPE (Cf. hope) + LESS (Cf. less). Related: Hopelessly; hopelessness …   Etymology dictionary

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  • hopeless — [adj] futile, pessimistic bad, beyond recall, cynical, dejected, demoralized, despairing, desperate, despondent, disconsolate, discouraging, downhearted, fatal, forlorn, gone*, goner*, helpless, ill fated, impossible, impracticable, incurable, in …   New thesaurus

  • hopeless — ► ADJECTIVE 1) feeling or causing despair. 2) inadequate; incompetent. DERIVATIVES hopelessly adverb hopelessness noun …   English terms dictionary

  • hopeless — hope|less S3 [ˈhəupləs US ˈhoup ] adj 1.) if something that you try to do is hopeless, there is no possibility of it being successful ▪ We tried to stop the flames from spreading, but we knew it was hopeless. ▪ Getting your work published often… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • hopeless — adjective 1 a hopeless situation is so bad that there is no chance of success or improvement: be in a hopeless mess/state/condition: The economy is in a hopeless mess. 2 if something that you try to do is hopeless, there is no possibility of it… …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

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