hapless

adjective

hap·less ˈha-pləs How to pronounce hapless (audio)

: having no luck : unfortunate

tale of a hapless sailor

hapless beings caught in the grip of forces we can do little about

W. H. Whyte

haplessly adverb

haplessness noun

Did you know?

Hapless literally means what you'd expect it to mean: "without hap"—hap being another word for fortune or luck. Hap derives from the Old Norse word for "good luck," a word that is also the source of our happen and happy. English has several words to describe those lacking good fortune, including ill-starred, ill-fated, unlucky, and luckless, a word formed in parallel to hapless by adding the suffix -less. Ill-starred suggests bringing calamity or the threat of a terrible fate ("the ill-starred year the Great Depression began"). Ill-fated refers only to being doomed ("the ill-fated voyage of the Titanic"). Unlucky and luckless usually apply to a person or thing notably or chronically unfortunate ("an unlucky slots player," "some luckless investors swindled in the deal").

Example Sentences

She plays the hapless heroine who is unlucky in love. the hapless motorist had barely paid his bill and driven away from the body shop when a truck sideswiped his car

Recent Examples on the Web The Boston Five-O sends out homicide Detective Monroe (a funny Roy Wood Jr.) and his hapless trainee Griz (Ayden Mayeri).

Odie Henderson, BostonGlobe.com, 14 Sep. 2022 Back in the Oakland Athletics’ dugout, Laureano delivered four more swings to a hapless water cooler, sending its broken lid flying out of the dugout as some teammates turned to watch and others averted their gaze.

Matt Kawahara, San Francisco Chronicle, 10 Sep. 2022 Oregon demolished hapless Eastern Washington, 70-14, Saturday night at Autzen Stadium in Eugene.

oregonlive, 10 Sep. 2022 Based on the first three quarters at Michigan Stadium, where the Wolverines were never threatened by a hapless Colorado State squad debuting its new head coach, the fans clamoring for McCarthy to win the quarterback competition will double down.

Michael Cohen, Detroit Free Press, 3 Sep. 2022 Freddy provides the narrative voice for some parts of Less’ new cross-country adventures as the hapless 50-something tools along back roads, accompanied by a pug named Dolly in a camper called Rosina.

Bethanne Patrick, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2022 Jason Sudeikis stars as a hapless American football coach who agrees to train a failing British soccer team.

Amy Mackelden, ELLE, 1 Sep. 2022 The dream always ends before the production starts, to the benefit of my self-respect, the hapless director’s reputation, and my potential audience – who no doubt would have fled at the first note.

Sue Wunder, The Christian Science Monitor, 22 Aug. 2022 In the opening pages of this raucous novel filled with unforgettable characters, Skippy, a hapless 14-year-old pupil at a fancy boys’ school, writes a mysterious message in jelly filling on the floor of a doughnut shop and drops dead.

Isaac Fitzgerald, The Atlantic, 10 Aug. 2022 See More

单词	hapless
释义	hapless adjective hap·less ˈha-pləs : having no luck : unfortunate tale of a hapless sailor hapless beings caught in the grip of forces we can do little about W. H. Whyte haplessly adverb haplessness noun Did you know? Hapless literally means what you'd expect it to mean: "without hap"—hap being another word for fortune or luck. Hap derives from the Old Norse word for "good luck," a word that is also the source of our happen and happy. English has several words to describe those lacking good fortune, including ill-starred, ill-fated, unlucky, and luckless, a word formed in parallel to hapless by adding the suffix -less. Ill-starred suggests bringing calamity or the threat of a terrible fate ("the ill-starred year the Great Depression began"). Ill-fated refers only to being doomed ("the ill-fated voyage of the Titanic"). Unlucky and luckless usually apply to a person or thing notably or chronically unfortunate ("an unlucky slots player," "some luckless investors swindled in the deal"). Synonyms hard-luck ill-fated ill-starred jinxed luckless snakebit snakebitten star-crossed unfortunate unhappy unlucky See all Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences She plays the hapless heroine who is unlucky in love. the hapless motorist had barely paid his bill and driven away from the body shop when a truck sideswiped his car Recent Examples on the Web The Boston Five-O sends out homicide Detective Monroe (a funny Roy Wood Jr.) and his hapless trainee Griz (Ayden Mayeri). Odie Henderson, BostonGlobe.com, 14 Sep. 2022 Back in the Oakland Athletics’ dugout, Laureano delivered four more swings to a hapless water cooler, sending its broken lid flying out of the dugout as some teammates turned to watch and others averted their gaze. Matt Kawahara, San Francisco Chronicle, 10 Sep. 2022 Oregon demolished hapless Eastern Washington, 70-14, Saturday night at Autzen Stadium in Eugene. oregonlive, 10 Sep. 2022 Based on the first three quarters at Michigan Stadium, where the Wolverines were never threatened by a hapless Colorado State squad debuting its new head coach, the fans clamoring for McCarthy to win the quarterback competition will double down. Michael Cohen, Detroit Free Press, 3 Sep. 2022 Freddy provides the narrative voice for some parts of Less’ new cross-country adventures as the hapless 50-something tools along back roads, accompanied by a pug named Dolly in a camper called Rosina. Bethanne Patrick, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2022 Jason Sudeikis stars as a hapless American football coach who agrees to train a failing British soccer team. Amy Mackelden, ELLE, 1 Sep. 2022 The dream always ends before the production starts, to the benefit of my self-respect, the hapless director’s reputation, and my potential audience – who no doubt would have fled at the first note. Sue Wunder, The Christian Science Monitor, 22 Aug. 2022 In the opening pages of this raucous novel filled with unforgettable characters, Skippy, a hapless 14-year-old pupil at a fancy boys’ school, writes a mysterious message in jelly filling on the floor of a doughnut shop and drops dead. Isaac Fitzgerald, The Atlantic, 10 Aug. 2022 See More Word History Etymology see hap entry 1 First Known Use 14th century, in the meaning defined above Kids Definition hapless adjective hap·less ˈha-pləs : unfortunate sense 1 The hapless runner tripped during the race. hapless adjective as in unfortunate having, prone to, or marked by bad luck the hapless motorist had barely paid his bill and driven away from the body shop when a truck sideswiped his car Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance unfortunate unhappy luckless disastrous unlucky doomed unfavorable hard-luck ill-starred jinxed ill-fated snakebitten snakebit star-crossed tragic adverse damned catastrophic inauspicious unpromising tragical calamitous accursed ill untoward accurst Antonyms & Near Antonyms lucky happy fortunate gifted privileged favored promising favorable golden fair blessed propitious blest auspicious See More
随便看	Peelite peels peels (off) peels off peels out peen peen-to Peene peened Peenemünde peenge peenged peengeing peenges peening peening rammer peens peeoy peeoys peep peep frog peep hawk peep show peep sight peep-bo

hapless

adjective

Did you know?

Synonyms

Example Sentences

Word History

Kids Definition

adjective

adjective