feck·less

[fek-lis]
adjective
1.
ineffective; incompetent; futile: feckless attempts to repair the plumbing.
2.
having no sense of responsibility; indifferent; lazy.

Origin:
1590–1600; orig. Scots, equivalent to feck, late Middle English (Scots) fek, aphetic form of effeck (Scots form of effect) + -less

feck·less·ly, adverb
feck·less·ness, noun

feckless, reckless.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
feckless (ˈfɛklɪs) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
feeble; weak; ineffectual; irresponsible
 
[C16: from obsolete feck value, effect + -less]
 
'fecklessly
 
adv
 
'fecklessness
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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00:10
Feckless is always a great word to know.
So is ort. Does it mean:
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

feckless
1590s, from feck, "effect, value, vigor" (late 15c.), Scottish shortened form of effect; popularized by Carlyle, who left its opposite, feckful, in dialectal obscurity.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
The widespread poverty,unemployment,drug addiction and feckless begging on the
  main streets was shocking.
Scores of immigrants now put their lives in the hands of feckless smugglers,
  with tragic results.
While reprehensible and feckless, these tactics are not surprising to us.
The less active it was, the more feckless people were.
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