hopeless

English

Etymology

hope +‎ -less, compare Swedish hopplös.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈhoʊplɪs/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈhəʊplɪs/
• Hyphenation: hope‧less

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Adjective

hopeless (comparative more hopeless, superlative most hopeless)

1. Without hope; despairing; not expecting anything positive.
   • 1613, William Shakespeare; [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act III, scene i]:

     I am a woman, friendless, hopeless.

   • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 15, in The Mirror and the Lamp:

     Edward Churchill still attended to his work in a hopeless mechanical manner like a sleep-walker who walks safely on a well-known round. But his Roman collar galled him, his cossack stifled him, his biretta was as uncomfortable as a merry-andrew's cap and bells.

   • 1966, James Workman, The Mad Emperor, Melbourne, Sydney: Scripts, page 41:

     A gaoler struck him, pushing him back in place in the hopeless, helpless line of prisoners.

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

   a hopeless cause

3. Without talent, not skilled.

   He's a hopeless writer, but can draw very well.

   • 1926, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Land of Mist‎^[1]:

     " It is a pure waste of time." "Not at all," Malone answered. "It has ventilated an evil. There were reporters in court. Surely some of them have some sense. They will note the injustice." "Not they," said Mailey. "The Press is hopeless. My God, what a responsibility these people take on themselves, and how little they guess the price that each will pay! I know."

4. (of an adverse condition) Incurable.

   She is a hopeless romantic.

   He is a hopeless idler.

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

Translations

destitute of hope; having no expectation of good; despairing

• Afrikaans: hopeloos
• Armenian: անհույս (hy) (anhuys)
• Bulgarian: безнадежден (bg) (beznadežden)
• Catalan: desesperat
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 沒有希望的, 没有希望的 (méiyǒu xīwàng de), 絕望的 (zh), 绝望的 (zh) (juéwàng de)

• Czech: beznadějný (cs)
• Danish: håbløs
• Dutch: hopeloos (nl), uitzichtloos (nl), kansloos (nl)
• Finnish: toivoton (fi)
• French: désespéré (fr)
• Georgian: უიმედო (uimedo)
• German: hoffnungslos (de)
• Greek: ανέλπιδος (el) (anélpidos)

  Ancient Greek: ἀνέλπιστος (anélpistos)

• Hungarian: reménytelen (hu)
• Italian: disperato (it)
• Japanese: 絶望した (ja) (ぜつぼうした, zetsubō shita), 絶望的な (ぜつぼうてきな, zetsubōteki na)

• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: نا ئومێد‎ (na umêd)

  Northern Kurdish: bêhêvî (ku)

• Latin: desperatus
• Latvian: bezcerīgs
• Lithuanian: beviltiškas
• Macedonian: безнадежен (beznadežen)
• Malay: putus asa
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: håpløs (no), håplaus, vonløs, vonlaus

  Nynorsk: vonlaus, håplaus

• Persian: ناامید‎ (fa) (nâ-omid)
• Plautdietsch: hopnungslooss
• Polish: beznadziejny (pl)
• Portuguese: desesperado (pt), desesperançado
• Russian: безнадёжный (ru) (beznadjóžnyj)
• Spanish: desesperado (es)
• Swedish: hopplös (sv)
• Turkish: umutsuz (tr), ümitsiz (tr), nevmit (tr)
• Welsh: anobeithiol (cy), diobaith (cy)

desperate — see desperate

without talent — see talentless

not skilled — see nonskilled

incurable — see incurable

References

• hopeless in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• hopeless in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• hopeless at OneLook Dictionary Search