1
as in sad
feeling unhappiness
she was forlorn when she found out the trip had been cancelled
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in lonely
sad from lack of companionship or separation from others
a forlorn wanderer far from home
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3
as in bleak
causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer
a forlorn little town whose brief economic boom ended decades ago
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4
as in desperate
feeling or showing no hope
the forlorn expression of a candidate who knows that he hasn't a prayer of winning the election
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of forlorn
And some Democrats, frustrated and forlorn at a lack of leadership in their own ranks, have embraced him as a hero.
—
Gina Kolata, New York Times, 3 May 2025
Amtrak is forlorn that its Heartland Flyer service between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth will not be able to continue unless the Texas Department of Transportation forks over more money.
—Dominic Pino, National Review, 12 June 2025
Baker worked at the Bee for two years in college, escorting forlorn children to the crying room.
—Elizabeth Hernandez, Denver Post, 26 May 2025
Chernow follows the pattern of most biographers in giving this work less attention than the more chipper earlier books—which is a pity, because the later work also reflects the Twain best illuminated by Chernow’s biography and its emphasis on Twain’s most forlorn years.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 9 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for forlorn
Gina Kolata, New York Times, 3 May 2025
Amtrak is forlorn that its Heartland Flyer service between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth will not be able to continue unless the Texas Department of Transportation forks over more money.
—Dominic Pino, National Review, 12 June 2025
Baker worked at the Bee for two years in college, escorting forlorn children to the crying room.
—Elizabeth Hernandez, Denver Post, 26 May 2025
Chernow follows the pattern of most biographers in giving this work less attention than the more chipper earlier books—which is a pity, because the later work also reflects the Twain best illuminated by Chernow’s biography and its emphasis on Twain’s most forlorn years.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 9 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for forlorn
Recent Examples of Synonyms for forlorn
Adjective
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Too much alcohol and your dreamy dessert turns into a sad, semi-frozen slush.—
Emily Price,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2025
-
Her eyes are big and sad, and her index finger touches the tip of the nightstick hanging from the policeman’s belt.—
Daniel Alarcón,
New Yorker,
30 June 2025
Adjective
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While Bowie envisioned an Earth careening toward apocalypse in a flamboyant, theatrical cry, Drake’s five leaves are quieter, lonelier — more like the end of a season than the end of a world.—
arkansasonline.com,
arkansasonline.com,
5 July 2025
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By January, Musk had transitioned to lieutenant, making up DOGE, complete with cringey swag, like a lonely preteen dreaming up a secret club in his tree house.—
Anita Chabria,
Los Angeles Times,
1 July 2025
Adjective
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Some traders said the numbers were less severe than analysts' bleak forecasts.—
Sabrina Valle,
USA Today,
3 July 2025
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No one is as funny and as bleak in the same sentence, or maybe even the same word.—
Literary Hub
July 1,
Literary Hub,
1 July 2025
Adjective
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Since federal immigration raids, primarily targeting Latino communities, began roiling Los Angeles in early June, animal rescues and care providers across the county are hearing desperate pleas for help.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
12 July 2025
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But this went from an idea that was an automatic community win to an example of desperate nickel and diming.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
12 July 2025
Adjective
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This gives the creditor an additional target to pursue and make very unhappy which can indirectly put pressure on the debtor to pay the judgment.—
Jay Adkisson,
Forbes.com,
2 July 2025
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Circulation increased and the publication won two Pulitzer Prizes, but the owner, conservative Harry Guggenheim, was unhappy with the paper’s shift to the left, and he and Moyers were divided over the Vietnam War and the 1968 presidential election.—
Carmel Dagan,
Variety,
26 June 2025
Adjective
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For starters, no one would ever describe them as empty or desolate.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
27 June 2025
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Of the 14 missiles, 13 were intercepted, with the final munition allowed to land harmlessly in a desolate area.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
24 June 2025
Adjective
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In a time when the suffering and seemingly hopeless prospects of America’s poor are known to all who have eyes to see, the only fig leaf available to hide the obscenity of this bill is the old partisan charge of waste, fraud and abuse.—
Clarence Page,
Chicago Tribune,
6 July 2025
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Valentine, Texas, stamps 10,000+ love letters each year For more than three decades, the small-town Valentine Post Office — also known as the Love Station — has processed thousands of love letters from hopeless romantics around the world.—
Brandi D. Addison,
Austin American Statesman,
2 July 2025
Adjective
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Screenshot from a July 1 TikTok video of a depressed golden retriever waiting for her dog dad to return 1 1/2 years after a breakup.—
Liz O'Connell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 July 2025
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Despite these efforts, the advertiser exodus of 2023 meant that X’s ad revenue was quite depressed.—
Orianna Rosa Royle,
Fortune,
9 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Forlorn.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forlorn. Accessed 15 Jul. 2025.
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