ENGLISH
REFERENCE

forlorn

adj.
C1 Advanced US //fɝˈɫɔɹn// UK //fˈɔːlɔːn// for·lorn Archaic

adj. feeling very sad or lonely because you have lost something or someone. It can also describe a place that looks empty and abandoned.

adj. feeling or appearing very sad, lonely, or desperate. Often used to describe a person's emotional state or a place's desolate appearance.


SIMPLE

The old house looked forlorn after the storm.

CONTEXTUAL

The soldier stood forlorn at the edge of the battlefield, watching his comrades leave without him.

COMPLEX

The forlorn expression on the child's face suggested a deep sense of abandonment, though the cause of his distress remained a mystery to the adults around him.

Origin

From Middle English forlorn, forloren, from Old English forloren (past participle of forlēosan (“to lose”)), from Proto-Germanic fraluzanaz (“lost”), past participle of Proto-Germanic fraleusaną (“to lose”), equivalent to for- + lorn. Cognate with West Frisian ferlern (“lost”), Saterland Frisian ferlädden (“lost”), Dutch verloren (“lost”), German Low German verloren (“lost”), German verloren (“lost”), Swedish förlorad (“lost”). See further at lese/leese, lorn.

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