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
Of course, facing Ohio State will be much more challenging and revealing than Manning’s undressing of hapless Mississippi State with 325 passing yards in September 2024.
—
Blake Toppmeyer, USA TODAY, 24 July 2025
Ansari and Reeves sit down with Entertainment Weekly to dissect the trailer, also sharing tidbits about how Reeves' past comedic roles — notably, the hapless Ted from the Bill & Ted film franchise — helped lay the groundwork for Gabriel.
—EW.com, 23 July 2025
Despite the overwhelming evidence of the terrorist attacks, hapless conspiracists will continue to argue that about 3,000 people were murdered by Americans on 9/11.
—Chicago Tribune, 18 July 2025
Beau, played hapless and pitiable by Joaquin Phoenix, can’t go five minutes without dodging violent street punks, or fielding calls from his emotionally abusive mother, or narrowly escaping gunfire.
—Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 17 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for hapless
Blake Toppmeyer, USA TODAY, 24 July 2025
Ansari and Reeves sit down with Entertainment Weekly to dissect the trailer, also sharing tidbits about how Reeves' past comedic roles — notably, the hapless Ted from the Bill & Ted film franchise — helped lay the groundwork for Gabriel.
—EW.com, 23 July 2025
Despite the overwhelming evidence of the terrorist attacks, hapless conspiracists will continue to argue that about 3,000 people were murdered by Americans on 9/11.
—Chicago Tribune, 18 July 2025
Beau, played hapless and pitiable by Joaquin Phoenix, can’t go five minutes without dodging violent street punks, or fielding calls from his emotionally abusive mother, or narrowly escaping gunfire.
—Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 17 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for hapless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hapless
Adjective
-
After the unfortunate withdrawal of U.S. Classic bars champion Myli Lew in podium training, the women’s bars title is even more up for grabs.—
Caroline Price,
Forbes.com,
7 Aug. 2025
-
The fishermen were forced to abandon the Titan after a series of unfortunate events hit the ship.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
7 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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As with almost any change, some residents were unhappy, mostly about being told to slow down.—
Phil Diehl,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 Aug. 2025
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President Donald Trump was unhappy with July’s U.S. jobs report, which showed hiring slowing (with 73,000 jobs added, compared to 100,000 predicted) and revised past months’ numbers.—
Emma Hinchliffe,
Fortune,
4 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hapless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hapless. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
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