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
But even without three rotation players, the Heat made quick work of the hapless Wizards, opening a 34-23 lead after a quarter and a 72-52 lead at the half.
—
Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 11 Apr. 2026
Almost all of the show’s original stars have returned, including Frankie Muniz as Malcolm, Jane Kaczmarek as his mom Lois, and Bryan Cranston as Malcolm’s hapless dad Hal.
—Stuart Miller, Oc Register, 6 Apr. 2026
Unlike that film, The Drama, which is distributed by A24, isn’t necessarily trying to lampoon a hapless character who deserves our ire.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 31 Mar. 2026
Running from 2005 through 2013 for a total of nine seasons, the sitcom just cracked 200 episodes, following the hapless and offbeat employees at a fictional paper company.
—Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 29 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hapless
Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 11 Apr. 2026
Almost all of the show’s original stars have returned, including Frankie Muniz as Malcolm, Jane Kaczmarek as his mom Lois, and Bryan Cranston as Malcolm’s hapless dad Hal.
—Stuart Miller, Oc Register, 6 Apr. 2026
Unlike that film, The Drama, which is distributed by A24, isn’t necessarily trying to lampoon a hapless character who deserves our ire.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 31 Mar. 2026
Running from 2005 through 2013 for a total of nine seasons, the sitcom just cracked 200 episodes, following the hapless and offbeat employees at a fictional paper company.
—Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 29 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hapless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hapless
Adjective
-
Even before the president set off this unfortunate round of gerrymandering, Democratic states such as New York and Illinois were already heavily gerrymandered.—
Colin Pascal,
Baltimore Sun,
25 Apr. 2026
-
He’s beaten by thugs with a crowbar for an unfortunate outburst, exploited by neighbors in the council estate and arrested, all because people don’t understand Tourette syndrome.—
Katie Walsh,
Boston Herald,
24 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Fast-forward to the April 7 special election brought to a ballot by residents unhappy with the changes.—
John Aguilar,
Denver Post,
19 Apr. 2026
-
One of them, Amy, a blond child with limp ponytails and a thin dress that looks like it might have been stained, stands outside a porch door, her fists balled up, mouth open, angry or unhappy or both.—
Vince Aletti,
New Yorker,
18 Apr. 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
-
Many similar blunders have been recorded in years past, including arguably the worst example, a disastrous decision three decades ago to overhaul how electricity was produced, distributed and priced.—
Dan Walters,
Mercury News,
18 Apr. 2026
-
This is disastrous and very concerning for the future of San Diego, which is going to lose jobs at an unparalleled pace given the presence of artificial intelligence.—
U T Readers,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
17 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hapless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hapless. Accessed 27 Apr. 2026.
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