'Forlorn' definitions:
Definition of 'forlorn'
(from WordNet)
adjective
Marked by or showing hopelessness; "the last forlorn attempt"; "a forlorn cause"
Definition of 'Forlorn'
From: GCIDE
- Forlese \For*lese"\, v. t. [p. p. Forlore, Forlorn.] [OE. forlesen. See Forlorn.] To lose utterly. [Obs.] --haucer. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'Forlorn'
From: GCIDE
- 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. [1913 Webster]
- Of fortune and of hope at once forlorn. --Spenser. [1913 Webster]
- Some say that ravens foster forlorn children. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
- 2. Destitute; helpless; in pitiful plight; wretched; miserable; almost hopeless; desperate. [1913 Webster]
- For here forlorn and lost I tread. --Goldsmith. [1913 Webster]
- The condition of the besieged in the mean time was forlorn in the extreme. --Prescott. [1913 Webster]
- She cherished the forlorn hope that he was still living. --Thomson. [1913 Webster]
- 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. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'Forlorn'
From: GCIDE
- Forlorn \For*lorn"\, n.
- 1. A lost, forsaken, or solitary person. [1913 Webster]
- Forced to live in Scotland a forlorn. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
- 2. A forlorn hope; a vanguard. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]
- Our forlorn of horse marched within a mile of the enemy. --Oliver Cromvell. [1913 Webster]
Synonyms of 'forlorn'
From: 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