forlorn

[fawr-lawrn]

adjective

1. desolate or dreary; unhappy or miserable, as in feeling, condition, or appearance.

   Synonyms: comfortless, woebegone, helpless, pitiable, pitiful
   Antonyms: happy

2. lonely and sad; forsaken.

   Synonyms: solitary, lost, alone

3. expressive of hopelessness; despairing.

   forlorn glances.

4. bereft; destitute.

   forlorn of comfort.

   Synonyms: deprived

forlorn

/ fəˈlɔːn /

adjective

1. miserable, wretched, or cheerless; desolate

2. deserted; forsaken

3. destitute; bereft

   forlorn of hope

4. desperate

   the last forlorn attempt

Other Word Forms

• forlornness noun
• forlornly adverb
• unforlorn adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of forlorn¹

First recorded before 1150; Middle English foreloren “lost completely,” past participle of forlesen “to lose completely,” Old English forlēosan; cognate with Old High German firliosan ( German verlieren ), Gothic fraliusan; equivalent to for- + lorn

Word History and Origins

Origin of forlorn¹

Old English forloren lost, from forlēosan to lose; related to Old Saxon farliosan , Gothic fraliusan , Greek luein to release

Synonym Study

See desolate.

Example Sentences

Receivers in hand, they’re reaching out--at all hours of the day and night, from nearly every continent on the globe--to make contact with this forlorn desert outpost.

From Los Angeles Times

That Love identified no sadness in the songs only makes it easier to understand why Wilson the lonely young pop star was writing tunes as openly forlorn as “In My Room.”

From Los Angeles Times

West Indies skipper Hope, and the man he succeeded in the form of Powell, at least showed some fight during what always looked to be a forlorn effort.

From BBC

Sacramento State announced Tuesday that it hired outsized personality and hoops icon Shaquille O’Neal as general manager of its forlorn men’s basketball program.

From Los Angeles Times

Kudos to them, too, for re-energizing voters while so many forlorn Democratic leaders twiddle their thumbs and nurse the hangover of defeat.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• depressed 
• deserted 
• desolate 
• desperate 
• despondent 
• destitute 
• helpless 
• lonely 
• miserable 
• oppressed 
• pathetic 
• pitiful