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
Rooting for a hapless team for nearly two decades teaches you to find pleasures beyond victory.
—
Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 13 May 2026
Joined by her hapless but loyal classmate Curtis Mehlberg (Jacob Tremblay), Prue navigates a world of talking animals, bandits, and powerful figures driven by grief and ambition.
—Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 13 May 2026
Over the past week, viral videos created with artificial intelligence have portrayed Pratt as the city’s savior from hapless Democrats and violent socialists.
—Jonathan J. Cooper, Twin Cities, 13 May 2026
In one scene from the sequel, Miranda struggles to hang up her own coat in a bit of hapless slapstick that serves to defang the dragon lady.
—Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 11 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for hapless
Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 13 May 2026
Joined by her hapless but loyal classmate Curtis Mehlberg (Jacob Tremblay), Prue navigates a world of talking animals, bandits, and powerful figures driven by grief and ambition.
—Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 13 May 2026
Over the past week, viral videos created with artificial intelligence have portrayed Pratt as the city’s savior from hapless Democrats and violent socialists.
—Jonathan J. Cooper, Twin Cities, 13 May 2026
In one scene from the sequel, Miranda struggles to hang up her own coat in a bit of hapless slapstick that serves to defang the dragon lady.
—Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 11 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for hapless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hapless
Adjective
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And yes, there is the unfortunate elephant in the room.—
Pete Sweeney
May 22,
Kansas City Star,
22 May 2026
-
Now resupply is by motorbike, ground robot or drone or in the case of Russia, carried on the backs of unfortunate soldiers known as camels.—
David Hambling,
Forbes.com,
22 May 2026
Adjective
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With the Mets taking a 2-1 lead, Rodón, clearly unhappy, appeared to curse at himself as Austin Wells patted him on the shoulder.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
17 May 2026
-
Janet reportedly attended an early private screening of the rough cut of the film and walked away pretty unhappy.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
15 May 2026
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
-
Stearns had nothing to do with any of them — and everything to do with the disastrous offseason that made the Mets the worst team in baseball for most of April.—
Bill Madden,
New York Daily News,
16 May 2026
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Based on a script by Justin Varava that made the 2024 Black List, Turpentine follows a deadbeat son who hires friends to rob his own parents to pay off a bookie, with disastrous results.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
15 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hapless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hapless. Accessed 24 May. 2026.
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