hope´less|ness

hope´less|ness
hope|less «HOHP lihs», adjective.
1. feeling no hope; without hope: »

He was disappointed so often that he became hopeless. Alas for him…Who, hopeless, lays his dead away (John Greenleaf Whittier).

2. giving no hope; desperate: »

hopeless illness.

–hope´less|ly, adverb.
–hope´less|ness, noun.
Synonym Study 1 Hopeless, desperate, despairing mean without hope. Hopeless implies being passively willing to endure whatever may come: »

After trying every means of escape and finding them all blocked, I sat in hopeless apathy.

Desperate implies being rashly willing to run any risk to improve the situation: »

People were so desperate they jumped from the burning building.

Despairing implies being utterly dejected and unable to think anything else to do or anywhere else to look for help: »

Despairing of saving his debt-ridden business, the desperate man declared bankruptcy.


Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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  • hope´less|ly — hope|less «HOHP lihs», adjective. 1. feeling no hope; without hope: »He was disappointed so often that he became hopeless. Alas for him…Who, hopeless, lays his dead away (John Greenleaf Whittier). 2. giving no hope; desperate: »hopeless illness.… …   Useful english dictionary

  • hope|less — «HOHP lihs», adjective. 1. feeling no hope; without hope: »He was disappointed so often that he became hopeless. Alas for him…Who, hopeless, lays his dead away (John Greenleaf Whittier). 2. giving no hope; desperate: »hopeless illness.… …   Useful english dictionary

  • hope — hope; hope·ite; hope·less; hope·less·ly; hope·less·ness; hope·well; stan·hope; hope·ful; hope·ful·ness; hope·well·ian; …   English syllables

  • ness — ness·ber·ry; ness·ler·iza·tion; ness·ler·ize; ness·ler s; new·fan·gled·ness; new·ness; news·i·ness; nice·ness; nig·gard·li·ness; nig·gard·ness; nigh·ness; nip·pi·ness; no·ble·ness; nois·i·ness; non·cha·lant·ness; north·er·li·ness; north·ness;… …   English syllables

  • hopelessness — hope·less·ness …   English syllables

  • hopeless — hope•less [[t]ˈhoʊp lɪs[/t]] adj. 1) providing no hope; beyond optimism or hope; desperate: a hopeless medical condition[/ex] 2) without hope; despairing: hopeless grief[/ex] 3) impossible to accomplish, solve, resolve, etc: a hopeless… …   From formal English to slang

  • hopeless — hope|less [ houpləs ] adjective * 1. ) if a situation is hopeless, it seems very unlikely to succeed or improve: The lawyers said it was a hopeless case. This is hopeless. I ll never learn to swim. He was indeed a sick man, but the outlook was… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • Hopeless — Hope less, a. 1. Destitute of hope; having no expectation of good; despairing. [1913 Webster] I am a woman, friendless, hopeless. Shak. [1913 Webster] 2. Giving no ground of hope; promising nothing desirable; desperate; as, a hopeless cause.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Hopelessly — Hopeless Hope less, a. 1. Destitute of hope; having no expectation of good; despairing. [1913 Webster] I am a woman, friendless, hopeless. Shak. [1913 Webster] 2. Giving no ground of hope; promising nothing desirable; desperate; as, a hopeless… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Hopelessness — Hopeless Hope less, a. 1. Destitute of hope; having no expectation of good; despairing. [1913 Webster] I am a woman, friendless, hopeless. Shak. [1913 Webster] 2. Giving no ground of hope; promising nothing desirable; desperate; as, a hopeless… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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