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
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.
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
Historical travel Lycian tombs Turkey 1 of 10 There’s no faster way to feel like a feckless slugabed than to compare your achievements to Alexander the Great.
—Maureen O'Hare, CNN Money, 17 May 2025
Belinda's heart swells with hope when Tanya offers to finance her dream of running her own wellness center, but the feckless Tanya reneges on her offer without batting an eye, running off into the sunset with Greg.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 5 May 2025
Whatever adjectives American progressives might use to describe Democrats—feckless, weak, pathetic—the Canadian Liberals are the opposite.
—Daniel Block, The Atlantic, 29 Apr. 2025
Even before Ipswich went down to 10 men in the 32nd minute — Leif Davis shown a straight red card for a feckless foul on Bukayo Saka — Arsenal were 2-0 ahead.
—Michael Walker, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for feckless
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Maureen O'Hare, CNN Money, 17 May 2025
Belinda's heart swells with hope when Tanya offers to finance her dream of running her own wellness center, but the feckless Tanya reneges on her offer without batting an eye, running off into the sunset with Greg.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 5 May 2025
Whatever adjectives American progressives might use to describe Democrats—feckless, weak, pathetic—the Canadian Liberals are the opposite.
—Daniel Block, The Atlantic, 29 Apr. 2025
Even before Ipswich went down to 10 men in the 32nd minute — Leif Davis shown a straight red card for a feckless foul on Bukayo Saka — Arsenal were 2-0 ahead.
—Michael Walker, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for feckless
Cite this Entry
“Feckless.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/feckless. Accessed 23 May. 2025.
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