ENGLISH
REFERENCE

hopeless

adj.
B1 Intermediate US //ˈhoʊpɫəs// UK //hˈəʊpləs// hope·less

adj. feeling that a situation is so bad that it cannot be fixed or improved. You can also use it to describe someone who is very bad at a specific skill.

adj. feeling or causing despair; having no expectation of good or success. When applied to a person's ability, it indicates a total lack of proficiency or aptitude.


SIMPLE

The situation looked hopeless after the heavy rain flooded the fields.

CONTEXTUAL

Despite their hopeless situation, the trapped miners remained calm and waited for the rescue team to arrive.

COMPLEX

The protagonist's hopeless struggle against the bureaucratic machine serves as a central theme in the novel, highlighting the futility of individual resistance.

Antonyms
Origin

From hope + -less, compare Swedish hopplös.

Usage

Often followed by the preposition 'at' when describing a lack of skill (e.g., 'hopeless at math').

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