1
as in incurable
not capable of being cured or reformed
a hopeless optimist who looked for the good in everyone and everything was a hopeless romantic who never stopped looking for a soulmate
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in cynical
emphasizing or expecting the worst
the poor woman was feeling hopeless about ever finding her lost cat
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3
as in impossible
incapable of being solved or accomplished
keeping this desk organized is hopeless
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4
as in desperate
feeling or showing no hope
the hopeless look on the faces of the fans as the other team scored again
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hopeless
To summarize, the protagonist, lost in hopeless days, eventually stumbles upon a deserted dance hall.
—
Billboard Japan, Billboard, 17 Oct. 2025
The movie, which premiered in the midnights section of the Toronto International Film Festival, follows a hopeless romantic who makes a Faustian bargain to win his crush’s heart.
—Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 14 Oct. 2025
If the key is taken to be some primordial tradition, echoing faintly across world literature after tens of millennia, any effort to pin it down looks hopeless.
—Manvir Singh, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
Throughout the 1970s, as much as Nicholson’s rebels or Beatty’s hopeless romantics, Keaton’s optimistic dreamers repeatedly collided with the realities of the times, measuring the distance between what the counterculture thought was possible and what the world would actually allow.
—Tim Grierson, Rolling Stone, 11 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hopeless
Billboard Japan, Billboard, 17 Oct. 2025
The movie, which premiered in the midnights section of the Toronto International Film Festival, follows a hopeless romantic who makes a Faustian bargain to win his crush’s heart.
—Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 14 Oct. 2025
If the key is taken to be some primordial tradition, echoing faintly across world literature after tens of millennia, any effort to pin it down looks hopeless.
—Manvir Singh, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
Throughout the 1970s, as much as Nicholson’s rebels or Beatty’s hopeless romantics, Keaton’s optimistic dreamers repeatedly collided with the realities of the times, measuring the distance between what the counterculture thought was possible and what the world would actually allow.
—Tim Grierson, Rolling Stone, 11 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hopeless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hopeless
Adjective
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In honor of Bruce Willis, who’s been battling frontotemporal dementia for two years, last night’s Soho Sessions aimed to raise awareness of (and funds for) the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD), the organization leading research into the incurable condition.—
David Browne,
Rolling Stone,
6 Nov. 2025
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In December 2024, Turner revealed he'd been diagnosed with Waldenström's macroglobulinemia, an incurable bone marrow cancer.—
KiMi Robinson,
USA Today,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The crimes with which she has been charged are trumped up and her arrest is a cynical ploy by the junta headed by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing to cling onto power.—
Kim Aris,
Time,
7 Nov. 2025
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Is Alec’s folksiness sincere or cynical?—
Sophie Brookover,
Vulture,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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While Houston’s rally wasn’t quite as explosive, the Texans pulled off what once seemed impossible.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
10 Nov. 2025
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There are great catches and there are impossible catches.—
The Athletic College Football Staff,
New York Times,
9 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Britain ultimately lost not only because of Washington’s extraordinary tenacity in the war’s several mainland theaters, but also because the king’s men had to stage long sieges, wage desperate naval battles, and take mounting casualties on too many other fronts spread too far apart.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
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Congress needs to go back in session because DC reporters are bored and desperate.—
Khaleda Rahman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Exhausted and despairing, many Palestinians had their own reasons for refusing to pack up and uproot themselves again.—
WAFAA SHURAFA,
Arkansas Online,
7 Sep. 2025
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People are despairing over the Supreme Court and its deference to the president.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
4 July 2025
Adjective
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Everyone's a little sad in The Holdovers, Alexander Payne's charmingly sour comedy about a student stuck at his New England boarding school over the holidays with only his grouchy professor (Paul Giamatti) and the school cook (Da'Vine Joy Randolph) for company.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 Nov. 2025
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The 25-year-old wide receiver is sad to see his teammates go, but trusts the vision of the New York front office.—
Matt Audilet,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The modest pace of hiring, alongside a series of high-profile layoff announcements from major companies, helps explain why consumers remain pessimistic about the labor market.—
Bloomberg News,
Boston Herald,
8 Nov. 2025
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Only voters in Virginia saw their state’s economy as excellent or good, while those in California, New York City and New Jersey took a more pessimistic view.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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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
Cite this Entry
“Hopeless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hopeless. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.
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