as in unfortunate
having, prone to, or marked by bad luck
the hapless motorist had barely paid his bill and driven away from the body shop when a truck sideswiped his car
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Recent Examples of hapless
And, of course, the hapless American consumer, who’s been paying at least a substantial chunk of these tariffs in the form of higher prices for goods, is the big loser.
—
The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 24 Feb. 2026
Five goals down at half-time, the Azerbaijani champions were hapless and guileless, incapable of delaying or deflecting Gordon’s acceleration and utterly without attacking merit until the game was yanked far beyond them.
—George Caulkin, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2026
In the film, O’Hara’s Cookie and her hapless husband, Gerry (played by Eugene Levy), own a Norwich terrier named Winky who is competing for best in show.
—Michaela Zee, Variety, 4 Feb. 2026
As Amodei warned this week, AI may yet be positioned to inflict maximum damage on a hapless and perpetually distracted human race.
—Dallas Morning News, 1 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hapless
The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 24 Feb. 2026
Five goals down at half-time, the Azerbaijani champions were hapless and guileless, incapable of delaying or deflecting Gordon’s acceleration and utterly without attacking merit until the game was yanked far beyond them.
—George Caulkin, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2026
In the film, O’Hara’s Cookie and her hapless husband, Gerry (played by Eugene Levy), own a Norwich terrier named Winky who is competing for best in show.
—Michaela Zee, Variety, 4 Feb. 2026
As Amodei warned this week, AI may yet be positioned to inflict maximum damage on a hapless and perpetually distracted human race.
—Dallas Morning News, 1 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hapless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hapless
Adjective
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The interviews themselves are informative, but unobtrusive, and the while intimate footage of Frazier and Reynolds’ personal lives paints a slightly wider picture of their circumstances, their moods in the aftermath of their unfortunate digital breakthroughs is kept largely at an arm’s length.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
14 Mar. 2026
-
Juicy is in the unfortunate position of following Jane.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
14 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The post got 22,000 views, including from unhappy folks living next to data centers, but no helpful information.—
Denise Crosby,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Mar. 2026
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Against this backdrop, the unhappy Angine shops compulsively in a department store and develops a fascination with a playful salesgirl.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
15 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Vasyanovych plays Roman, a luckless director who’s out of work and trying to shoot his latest film in a country whose dwindling population is still traumatized by the war.—
Christopher Vourlias,
Variety,
6 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Each hot run was countered by a disastrous stretch for seemingly everyone.—
Gabby Herzig,
New York Times,
15 Mar. 2026
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But two disastrous seasons followed that campaign, with the Hurricanes going a combined 22-41 in 2023-24 and 2024-25.—
Adam Lichtenstein,
Sun Sentinel,
15 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hapless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hapless. Accessed 17 Mar. 2026.
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