W. H. Whyte
Did you know?
Hapless means exactly what you'd expect it to mean: "without hap"—hap being another word for fortune or luck. Hap comes from the Old Norse word for "good luck," which is also the source of happen and happy. English has several words to describe those lacking good fortune, including ill-starred, ill-fated, unlucky, and luckless, a word formed in parallel to hapless by adding the suffix -less. Ill-starred suggests bringing calamity or the threat of a terrible fate ("the ill-starred year the Great Depression began"). Ill-fated refers only to being doomed ("the ill-fated voyage of the Titanic"). Unlucky and luckless usually apply to a person or thing notably or chronically unfortunate ("an unlucky slots player," "some luckless investors swindled in the deal"). Hapless is often imbued with a touch of pity, humor, or both for those to whom it refers, as in "a hapless goalie who couldn't block a shot to save his life."
Examples of hapless in a Sentence
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune, 21 May 2025
And the third — which stars John Mulaney as a corrupt FBI agent, Rhea Perlman as mob boss Beatrix Hasp, and Richard Kind as her hapless husband who just wants to make his panino in peace thank you very much — ends in a game-changing shocker.
—EW.com, 13 May 2025
Black, who managed the San Diego Padres for eight-plus seasons before lasting another eight-plus seasons with the mostly hapless Rockies, boasts his own coaching tree.
—Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 12 May 2025
The Detroit Tigers swept a doubleheader from the hapless Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on Thursday, raising their American League-best record to 25-13 — the second-best record in MLB, just a half-game behind the Los Angeles Dodgers at 25-12.
—Jon Vankin, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for hapless
Cite this Entry
“Hapless.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hapless. Accessed 25 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
hapless
adjective
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