feckless - Definitions from Dictionary.com

6 results for: feckless

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

feck·less

Audio Help [fek-lis] Pronunciation Key

–adjective

1.	ineffective; incompetent; futile: feckless attempts to repair the plumbing.

2.	having no sense of responsibility; indifferent; lazy.

[Origin: 1590–1600; orig. Scots, equiv. to feck, late ME (Scots) fek, aph. form of effeck (Scots form of effect) + -less

]

—Related forms

feck·less·ly, adverb

feck·less·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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feckless

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

feck·less Audio Help (fěk'lĭs) Pronunciation Key
adj.

Lacking purpose or vitality; feeble or ineffective.
Careless and irresponsible.

[Scots feck, effect (alteration of effect) + -less.]

feck'less·ly adv., feck'less·ness n.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
feckless

1599, from feck, "effect, value, vigor" (1470), Scot. shortened form of effect; popularized by Carlyle, who left its opposite, feckful, in dial. obscurity.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

feckless
adjective
1.	not fit to assume responsibility
2.	generally incompetent and ineffectual; "feckless attempts to repair the plumbing"; "inept handling of the account"