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Definition of hopeless adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

hopeless

adjective
 
/ˈhəʊpləs/
 
/ˈhəʊpləs/
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  1. if something is hopeless, there is no hope that it will get better or succeed
    • a hopeless situation
    • It's hopeless trying to convince her.
    • We won't bother to appeal—it's a hopeless case.
    • He felt that his life was a hopeless mess.
    Extra Examples
    • The situation seemed completely hopeless.
    • The situation seems increasingly hopeless.
    • He wanted to warn her how hopeless her case was.
    • There were some things it was hopeless to discuss with him.
    • Winning the title is out of the question now—it's a hopeless cause.
    Topics Difficulty and failureb2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • be
    • look
    • seem
    adverb
    • absolutely
    • completely
    • pretty
    preposition
    • at
    • with
    See full entry
  2. (British English, informal) extremely bad synonym terrible
    • The buses are absolutely hopeless these days!
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • be
    • look
    • seem
    adverb
    • absolutely
    • completely
    • pretty
    preposition
    • at
    • with
    See full entry
  3. (especially British English) (of people) very bad (at something); with no ability or skill synonym terrible
    • He's an absolutely hopeless driver.
    • hopeless at something I'm hopeless at science.
    • hopeless with something I've always been hopeless with machinery.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • be
    • look
    • seem
    adverb
    • absolutely
    • completely
    • pretty
    preposition
    • at
    • with
    See full entry
  4. feeling or showing no hope
    • She felt lonely and hopeless.
    Extra Examples
    • She felt lonely and completely hopeless.
    • With a hopeless shrug of resignation, he turned back.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • be
    • look
    • seem
    adverb
    • absolutely
    • completely
    • pretty
    preposition
    • at
    • with
    See full entry
See hopeless in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee hopeless in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
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