forlorn

adjective

for·​lorn fər-ˈlȯrn 

fȯr-

1

a

: bereft, forsaken

left quite forlorn of hope

b

: sad and lonely because of isolation or desertion : desolate

a forlorn landscape

2

: being in poor condition : miserable, wretched

forlorn tumbledown buildings

3

: nearly hopeless

a forlorn attempt

forlornly adverb

forlornness

fər-ˈlȯrn-nəs 

fȯr-

noun

Synonyms of forlorn

• sad
• unhappy
• depressed
• heartbroken
• miserable
• melancholy
• sorry
• bad

Choose the Right Synonym for forlorn

alone, solitary, lonely, lonesome, lone, forlorn, desolate mean isolated from others.

alone stresses the objective fact of being by oneself with slighter notion of emotional involvement than most of the remaining terms.

everyone needs to be alone sometimes

solitary may indicate isolation as a chosen course

glorying in the calm of her solitary life

but more often it suggests sadness and a sense of loss.

left solitary by the death of his wife

lonely adds to solitary a suggestion of longing for companionship.

felt lonely and forsaken

lonesome heightens the suggestion of sadness and poignancy.

an only child often leads a lonesome life

lone may replace lonely or lonesome but typically is as objective as alone.

a lone robin pecking at the lawn

forlorn stresses dejection, woe, and listlessness at separation from one held dear.

a forlorn lost child

desolate implies inconsolable grief at loss or bereavement.

desolate after her brother's death

Examples of forlorn in a Sentence

Against the forlorn backdrop of the muddy terrain the media circus has left behind, the young mother is photographed for a fashion spread wearing a … white dress. —James Wolcott, Vanity Fair, September 1998

There is nothing quite so forlorn as a closed factory—Vic Wilcox knows, having supervised a shutdown himself in his time. —David Lodge, Nice Work, 1990

Like Ozymandias, once king of kings but now two legs of a broken statue in Percy Shelley's desert, the great facade of Union Station in Washington, D.C., stands forlorn … —Stephen Jay Gould, Natural History, November 1986

she was forlorn when she found out the trip had been cancelled

a forlorn wanderer far from home

Recent Examples on the Web

Car lots, mechanic shops, and cafes line a forlorn stretch of Route 66 in central Amarillo, but vibrant art galleries, antique shops, restaurants, a bookstore, and record shop are concentrated in a lively 13-block strip of the famed highway west of the central business district. —Pam Leblanc, Southern Living, 3 Jan. 2026

Highways, viaducts, giant interchanges, and a major Metro junction viciously mutilated São Paulo’s downtown in the 1960s and ’70s, demoting it from a popular residential area to a commercial transfer hub, overcrowded and polluted by day but forlorn by night. —Michaëla De Lacaze Mohrmann, Artforum, 1 Jan. 2026

All the forlorn England contingent can do is shake their heads and take a sip of lager in quiet reflection. —Tim Spiers, New York Times, 21 Dec. 2025

Another of the year’s highlights might have been a forlorn ghost singing lullabies at your bedside, or your gravesite. —Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 16 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English forloren, from Old English, past participle of forlēosan to lose, from for- + lēosan to lose — more at lose

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing forlorn

• forlorn hope

Rhymes for forlorn

• adorn
• airborne
• blackthorn
• broomcorn
• buckhorn
• buckthorn
• careworn
• firstborn
• foodborne
• forborne
• forewarn
• forsworn

Kids Definition

forlorn

adjective

for·​lorn fər-ˈlȯ(ə)rn 

fȯr-

1

: feeling sad and lonely especially because of being left alone

2

: nearly hopeless

a forlorn cause

forlornly adverb

forlornness

-ˈlȯrn-nəs 

noun