hope|less

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.