Nearby Words

hapless

[hap-lis] Example Sentences Origin

hap·less

[hap-lis]
adjective
unlucky; luckless; unfortunate.

Origin:
1560–70; hap1 + -less

hap·less·ly, adverb
hap·less·ness, noun

hapless, haply, happily.


miserable, woebegone, wretched, forlorn; pathetic, pitiable.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To hapless

:10

:09

:08

:07

:06

:05

:04

:03

:02

:01

Hapless is always a great word to know.
So is slumgullion. Does it mean:
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
Example Sentences
  • The hapless lovers in this first novel are kept constantly off-balance before being consigned to oblivion.
  • The hapless creature presumably drowns in his own tears, a finale that kids may find unsettling.
  • The hapless bureaucrat was forced to eat his own words.
EXPAND
Collins
World English Dictionary
hapless (ˈhæplɪs)
 
adj
unfortunate; wretched
 
'haplessly
 
adv
 
'haplessness
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

hapless
"unfortunate," 1568, from hap (q.v.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature