feckless

adjective

feck·​less ˈfek-ləs How to pronounce feckless (audio)
1
: weak, ineffective
She can't rely on her feckless son.
2
: worthless, irresponsible
a feckless maneuver that could only serve to strengthen the enemySimon Schama
fecklessly adverb
fecklessness noun

Did you know?

Someone feckless is lacking in feck. And what, you may ask, is feck? In Scots—our source of fecklessfeck means "majority" or "effect." The term is ultimately an alteration of the Middle English effect. So something without feck is without effect, or 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 fallen out of use.

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 Republicans portrayed his entire approach as feckless and naïve. Jonathan Blitzer, The New Yorker, 17 Feb. 2024 The Jackie Robinson statue theft: Criminals as a group, as an occupation, are dumb, feckless and lacking in whatever constitutes conscience and soul. Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 28 Jan. 2024 If the designs of this conference’s attendees are in some way nefarious, at least its participants are feckless in their pursuit. Noah Rothman, National Review, 18 Jan. 2024 An inept, feckless and unpopular Palestinian Authority, a voiceless Palestinian people, armed settlers and an Israeli military with an ambiguous mission coexist in the treacherous vacuum of putative but ever-more-inconceivable Palestinian statehood. Roger Cohen, New York Times, 31 Jan. 2024 Nor should his feckless endorsement of Donald Trump. Mary Ellen Klas, The Mercury News, 23 Jan. 2024 But his Iran policy has been feckless, fatally flawed and dangerous to Americans, Israelis and brave Iranians fighting against Iran’s repressive rulers. WSJ, 21 Dec. 2023 Top Stories Dan McLaughlin In Saltburn, named for the estate where feckless scion Felix (Jacob Elordi) brings his social-climbing Oxford classmate Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan), Fennell attacks the British aristocracy. Armond White, National Review, 13 Dec. 2023 The feeling is most likely mutual, as Palestinians in Gaza are unlikely to be enthusiastic about embracing Abbas’s corrupt and feckless bureaucracy. Khaled Elgindy, Foreign Affairs, 18 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'feckless.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of feckless was circa 1585

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Dictionary Entries Near feckless

Cite this Entry

“Feckless.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/feckless. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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