Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Having no hope; despairing.
- adjective Characterized by despair.
- adjective Having no possibility of being solved or dealt with; impossible.
- adjective Having no hope or chance of changing or improving.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Without hope; having no expectation of gaining or attaining the thing desired; despairing.
- Affording no ground of hope or expectation of good; despaired of: as, a hopeless case; a hopeless scamp.
- Unhoped for; unexpected.
- Synonyms Desponding, discouraged.
- Incurable, irremediable, incorrigible, irreparable.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Destitute of hope; having no expectation of good; despairing.
- adjective Giving no ground of hope; promising nothing desirable; desperate.
- adjective obsolete Unhoped for; despaired of.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Destitute of
hope ; having no expectation of good; despairing. - adjective Giving no ground of hope; promising nothing desirable;
desperate .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective certain to fail
- adjective of a person unable to do something skillfully
- adjective without hope because there seems to be no possibility of comfort or success
- adjective (informal to emphasize how bad it is) beyond hope of management or reform
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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I am going to begin over with what you call the hopeless experiment -- and even now I think I have a chance ... a fighting chance of winning.
The Tyranny of Weakness Charles Neville Buck 1904
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Minister of War, offered to proceed to Khartoum, but when he discovered that the abandonment of the Soudan was to be proclaimed, he absolutely refused on any consideration to carry out what he termed a hopeless errand.
The Life of Gordon, Volume II Demetrius Charles Boulger 1890
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Violent crime and murders escalate and most people end up living in hopeless ghettos as the middle class disappears.
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Why should the general public remain hopeless while medical bureaucrats fiddle and fuss over how much evidence is enough to merit promoting healthy endeavors like exercising, eating well, using our brains and taking care of our general health -- things which might also lessen the risk of Alzheimer's?
Jean Carper: What's Going on With Alzheimer's Coverage in the Media? Jean Carper 2010
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Heaven help us to survive the hostility that has permeated our country with true understanding of issues and compassion for those in hopeless situations.
A pricey proposal 2009
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You will consider her remark very telling of a viewpoint that you characterize as hopeless, but you will say nothing.
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You will consider her remark very telling of a viewpoint that you characterize as hopeless, but you will say nothing.
What You Catch a Glimpse of, Forget As Soon Robert Detman 2009
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Perhaps we should start a B list - people who are happy to be candidates in hopeless seats where not much will be asked of them, save not having media juicy problems, being prepard to turn up for a pamplet photo and the count and not being off message should a newspaper phone you.
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Feelings to love or guilt impel families to demand all-out medical care in hopeless cases.
No More Aspirin, Please Nick Anthis 2006
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African immigrants are routinely burnt to death in hopeless conditions.
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