feckless

adjective

feck·​less ˈfek-ləs 

1

: weak, ineffective

She can't rely on her feckless son.

2

: worthless, irresponsible

a feckless maneuver that could only serve to strengthen the enemy

—Simon Schama

fecklessly adverb

fecklessness noun

Did you know?

A feckless person is lacking in feck. And what, you may ask, is feck? In Scots—our source of feckless—feck means "majority" or "effect." The term is ultimately an alteration of the Middle English effect. So something without feck is without effect, i.e., ineffective. In the past, feckful (meaning "efficient, effective," "sturdy," or "powerful") made an occasional appearance, but in this case, the weak has outlived the strong: feckless is a commonly used English word, but feckful has proven, well, feckless.

Synonyms

• unsuccessful
• inefficient
• ineffectual
• counterproductive

Examples of feckless in a Sentence

She can't rely on her feckless son.

a well-intentioned but feckless response to the rise in school violence

Recent Examples on the Web

As Vinayak recounts his family’s history, the men were feckless and the women saved the day. —Radha Vatsal june 20, Literary Hub, 20 June 2025

Delegitimizing the judiciary, the last constitutional brake when the legislature is co-opted and feckless? —Garry Kasparov, The Atlantic, 17 Apr. 2025

Compare this to the feckless impotence of Donald Trump or Andrew Cuomo. —Steven W. Thrasher june 23, Literary Hub, 23 June 2025

Now go to the French Laundry and stuff your lying face with caviar while Los Angeles burns YET AGAIN under your feckless leadership. —Megan Cartwright, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Scots, from feck effect, majority, from Middle English (Scots) fek, alteration of Middle English effect

First Known Use

circa 1585, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for feckless

• necklace
• reckless

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!