forlorn

[ fawr-lawrn ]
See synonyms for forlorn on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. desolate or dreary; unhappy or miserable, as in feeling, condition, or appearance.

  2. lonely and sad; forsaken.

  1. expressive of hopelessness; despairing: forlorn glances.

  2. bereft; destitute: forlorn of comfort.

Origin of forlorn

1
First recorded before 1150; Middle English foreloren “lost completely,” past participle of forlesen “to lose completely,” Old English forlēosan; cognate with Old High German firliosan (German verlieren ), Gothic fraliusan; equivalent to for- + lorn

synonym study For forlorn

2. See desolate.

Other words for forlorn

Opposites for forlorn

Other words from forlorn

  • for·lorn·ly, adverb
  • for·lorn·ness, noun
  • un·for·lorn, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use forlorn in a sentence

  • "I don't know more than half the population of New England," said Dan, with apparent levity, but real forlornness.

    April Hopes | William Dean Howells
  • She had clung to his arm with a tragic forlornness that seemed to leave her very wan and helpless.

    The Shadow | Arthur Stringer
  • My grief and forlornness have made a strange alteration in my former feelings about his coming back.

    The Queen of Hearts | Wilkie Collins
  • When they met he yielded to an impulse which the invalid's forlornness inspired, and went on to see him off.

  • At length Ellis came bustling along; and even she was a welcome sight to poor Morag in her forlornness.

    Morag | Janet Milne Rae

British Dictionary definitions for forlorn

forlorn

/ (fəˈlɔːn) /


adjective
  1. miserable, wretched, or cheerless; desolate

  2. deserted; forsaken

  1. (postpositive foll by of) destitute; bereft: forlorn of hope

  2. desperate: the last forlorn attempt

Origin of forlorn

1
Old English forloren lost, from forlēosan to lose; related to Old Saxon farliosan, Gothic fraliusan, Greek luein to release

Derived forms of forlorn

  • forlornly, adverb
  • forlornness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012