Adjacent Words

Forlorn definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

FORLORN', a.
1. Deserted; destitute; stripped or deprived; forsaken. Hence, lost; helpless; wretched; solitary.
Of fortune and of hope at once forlorn.
To live again in these wild woods forlorn.
For here forlorn and lost I tread.
2. Taken away. Obs.
When as night hath us of light forlorn.
3. Small; despicable; in a ludicrous sense.
Forlorn hope, properly, a desperate case; hence in military affairs, a detachment of men appointed to lead in an assault, to storm a counterscarp, enter a breach, or perform other service attended with uncommon peril.
FORLORN', n. A lost, forsaken, solitary person.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: marked by or showing hopelessness; "the last forlorn attempt"; "a forlorn cause"

Merriam Webster's

adjective Etymology: Middle English forloren, from Old English, past participle of forl?osan to lose, from for- + l?osan to lose — more at lose Date: before 12th century 1. a. bereft, forsaken <left quite forlorn of hope> b. sad and lonely because of isolation or desertion ; desolate <a forlorn landscape> 2. being in poor condition ; miserable, wretched <forlorn tumbledown buildings> 3. nearly hopeless <a forlorn attempt> Synonyms: see alone • forlornly adverb • forlornness noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. 1 sad and abandoned or lonely. 2 in a pitiful state; of wretched appearance. 3 desperate, hopeless, forsaken. Phrases and idioms: forlorn hope 1 a faint remaining hope or chance. 2 a desperate enterprise. Derivatives: forlornly adv. forlornness n. Etymology: past part. of obs. forlese f. OE forleosan (as FOR-, LOSE): forlorn hope f. Du. verloren hoop lost troop, orig. of a storming-party etc.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Forlese For*lese", v. t. [p. p. Forlore, Forlorn.] [OE. forlesen. See Forlorn.] To lose utterly. [Obs.] --haucer.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Forlorn For*lorn", a. [OE., p. p. of forlesen to lose utterly, AS. forle['o]san (p. p. forloren); pref. for- + le['o]san (in comp.) to lose; cf. D. verliezen to lose, G. verlieren, Sw. f["o]rlora, Dan. forloren, Goth. fraliusan to lose. See For-, and Lorn, a., Lose, v. t.] 1. Deserted; abandoned; lost. Of fortune and of hope at once forlorn. --Spenser. Some say that ravens foster forlorn children. --Shak. 2. Destitute; helpless; in pitiful plight; wretched; miserable; almost hopeless; desperate. For here forlorn and lost I tread. --Goldsmith. The condition of the besieged in the mean time was forlorn in the extreme. --Prescott. She cherished the forlorn hope that he was still living. --Thomson. A forlorn hope [D. verloren hoop, prop., a lost band or troop; verloren, p. p. of verliezen to lose + hoop band; akin to E. heap. See For-, and Heap.] (Mil.), a body of men (called in F. enfants perdus, in G. verlornen posten) selected, usually from volunteers, to attempt a breach, scale the wall of a fortress, or perform other extraordinarily perilous service; also, a desperate case or enterprise. Syn: Destitute, lost; abandoned; forsaken; solitary; helpless; friendless; hopeless; abject; wretched; miserable; pitiable.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Forlorn For*lorn", n. 1. A lost, forsaken, or solitary person. Forced to live in Scotland a forlorn. --Shak. 2. A forlorn hope; a vanguard. [Obs.] Our forlorn of horse marched within a mile of the enemy. --Oliver Cromvell.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. If someone is forlorn, they feel alone and unhappy. (LITERARY) One of the demonstrators, a young woman, sat forlorn on the pavement... ADJ: ADJ n, v-link ADJ, ADJ after v 2. A forlorn hope or attempt is one that you think has no chance of success. Peasants have left the land in the forlorn hope of finding a better life in cities. ADJ: usu ADJ n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Deserted, abandoned, forsaken, friendless, solitary, lost. 2. Wretched, miserable, pitiable, destitute, desolate, helpless, comfortless, disconsolate, woebegone.

Moby Thesaurus

abandoned, affording no hope, alone, apathetic, bereft, bleak, cheerless, comfortless, cynical, defenseless, dejected, depressed, deserted, desolate, desole, despairing, desperate, despondent, desponding, disconsolate, dismal, dispirited, dolorous, down, fatherless, forgotten, forsaken, friendless, fruitless, futile, gloomy, glum, godforsaken, grim, heartsick, heartsore, helpless, homeless, hopeless, in despair, inconsolable, joyless, kithless, lonely, lonesome, lost, low-spirited, lugubrious, melancholy, miserable, motherless, mournful, neglected, oppressed, outcast, pathetic, pessimistic, pitiable, pitiful, sad, shunned, sick, sick at heart, solitary, sorrowful, soul-sick, unconsolable, unfriended, unhappy, unhopeful, vain, without hope, woebegone, woeful, wretched