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?

A feckless person 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, 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.

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Instead of relying on a feckless Lebanese army to guard Israel's northern border, Trump will support greater latitude for Israel to defend itself and prevent any Hezbollah attempts to infiltrate the area. Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 27 Nov. 2024 Men are a structuring absence, as they are spoken of as faithless husbands, potential fiancés, feckless sons. John Bleasdale, Variety, 21 Nov. 2024 Some of her women have children to corral, some are young and feckless, some old and lonely, some young and lonely, some divorced. Madeline Leung Coleman, Vulture, 15 May 2024 As in Bosnia, if the West did not act, then both NATO and the European Union would appear feckless and thus diminished as security institutions with a valid role in the post-Cold War era. Robert E. Hunter, Foreign Affairs, 16 Mar. 2011 See all Example Sentences for feckless 

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 13 Dec. 2024.

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