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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hapless
The series follows a group of lonely, hapless strangers brought together by a divorce support group who, despite little common ground, form an unlikely bond and come up with a plan to take revenge on the people who broke their hearts.
—
Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 6 Nov. 2025
Startups may cast incumbents as hapless Goliaths, but in ranking Europe’s biggest companies, David is nowhere to be seen.
—Adam Gale, Fortune, 29 Oct. 2025
The point is, to me, Kuhn’s hapless federal felonies seem a lot less significant than grabbing $7,000 in cash payoffs in the ladies’ room at City Hall.
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 24 Oct. 2025
The game of the year in the Mountain West turned into a dud, thanks to UNLV’s hapless defense.
—Jon Wilner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hapless
Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 6 Nov. 2025
Startups may cast incumbents as hapless Goliaths, but in ranking Europe’s biggest companies, David is nowhere to be seen.
—Adam Gale, Fortune, 29 Oct. 2025
The point is, to me, Kuhn’s hapless federal felonies seem a lot less significant than grabbing $7,000 in cash payoffs in the ladies’ room at City Hall.
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 24 Oct. 2025
The game of the year in the Mountain West turned into a dud, thanks to UNLV’s hapless defense.
—Jon Wilner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hapless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hapless
Adjective
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Liverpool were competitive in the first half, and perhaps unfortunate to see Virgil van Dijk’s equaliser ruled out for interference from an offside position, but City pressed home their advantage through the brilliance of left-winger Jeremy Doku.—
Jacob Whitehead,
New York Times,
10 Nov. 2025
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The story takes place at a grand country house where the guests have an unfortunate habit of dying, or nearly dying, under seemingly unrelated circumstances.—
Anna Russell,
New Yorker,
10 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Pauline Collins, the exuberant British actress who inspired women — and men, too — to do something to change their unhappy lives with her Oscar-nominated and Olivier- and Tony-winning performances in Shirley Valentine, has died.—
Lisa de los Reyes,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Nov. 2025
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That distaste didn’t hurt Spanberger and her ticket, because 18% of those unhappy voters backed her anyway.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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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
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The spotlight increased after a disastrous interview with CBS to promote the legendary coach’s book.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
9 Nov. 2025
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Second goal breaks Charlotte’s back The second half opened with a disastrous sequence for Charlotte.—
Colin Cerniglia,
Charlotte Observer,
7 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hapless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hapless. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025.
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