Standard Lemma guide

forlorn

adj · noun · verb · 7 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • fər-lôrnʹ
  • fôr-lôrnʹ
  • Received-Pronunciation: /fəˈlɔːn/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /fɔːˈlɔːn/
  • General-American: /fɚˈlɔɹn/
  • General-American: /fɔɹˈlɔɹn/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɔː(ɹ)n
  • CMU ARPABET: F ER0 L AO1 R N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Abandoned, deserted, left behind.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: desolate, forsaken, peopleless, abandoned, derelict, desert, deserted, discarded, dropped, forlorn, high and dry, left behind, orphaned

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Pitifully sad, wretched, miserable; lonely, especially from feeling abandoned, deserted, forsaken.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: despondent, forsaken, lonesome, atrabiliary, atrabilious, blitheless, dispirited, blue, bummed out, chapfallen, cheerless, chopfallen, crestfallen, cut up, damp, dejected, depressed, disgruntled, disconsolate, disheartened, dismal, doleful, dolesome, down, down in the dumps, down in the mouth, downcast, downhearted, downsome, dull, elegiac, elegious, forlorn, gloomy, glum, grief-stricken, grieving, heavy-hearted, heartsore, heartsick, inconsolable, infelicitous, jawfallen, joyless, lachrymose, lamentful, low, low-spirited, lugubrious, lumpish, melancholic, melancholy, miserable, moody, mopey, morose, mournful, passionate, plaintive, Plutonian, Plutonic, querulous, ruthful, sad, saddened, saturnine, shattered, solemn, sombre, sorrowful, sorrow-ridden, sorrowsome, spiritless, sullen, threnetic, threnetical, triste, tristful, uncheerful, uncheery, unconsolable, unhappy, unlively, wistful, woe, woebegone, woeful, wretched, comfortless, bleak, dark, depressing, desolate, dire, drear, drearisome, dreary, dreich, gayless, gray, gloomsome, grim, lack-laughter, mirthless, no joke, somber, sunless, unmerry, wintry

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Unlikely to succeed; hopeless.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: despairful, desperate

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A forlorn hope.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: government, military, politics, war

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

A member of a forlorn hope.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: government, military, politics, war

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

verb

Meaning 6

past participle of forlese.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: form-of, obsolete, participle, past

Topics: government, military, politics, war

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

adjective satellite

Meaning 7

marked by or showing hopelessness

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the last forlorn attempt
  • a forlorn cause

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Middle English forlorn, forloren, from Old English forloren (past participle of forlēosan (“to lose”)), from Proto-Germanic *fraluzanaz (“lost”), past participle of Proto-Germanic *fraleusaną (“to lose”), equivalent to for- + lorn. Cognate with West Frisian ferlern (“lost”), Saterland Frisian ferlädden (“lost”), Dutch verloren (“lost”), German Low German verloren (“lost”), German verloren (“lost”), Swedish förlorad (“lost”). See further at lese/leese, lorn.

Across languages

Translations

89 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: изоставен (izostaven) — abandoned, deserted, left behind
  • Chinese Mandarin: 被遺棄的 /被遗弃的 (bèi yíqì de) — abandoned, deserted, left behind
  • Czech: opuštěný — abandoned, deserted, left behind
  • Czech: osamělý — abandoned, deserted, left behind
  • Dutch: verlaten — abandoned, deserted, left behind
  • Dutch: verloren — abandoned, deserted, left behind
  • Finnish: hylätty — abandoned, deserted, left behind
  • French: abandonné — abandoned, deserted, left behind
  • French: perdu — abandoned, deserted, left behind
  • Galician: abandonado — abandoned, deserted, left behind
  • German: verlassen — abandoned, deserted, left behind
  • Greek: εγκαταλελειμμένος (egkataleleimménos) — abandoned, deserted, left behind
  • Greek: έρημος (érimos) — abandoned, deserted, left behind
  • Hungarian: elhagyatott — abandoned, deserted, left behind
  • Italian: abbandonato — abandoned, deserted, left behind
  • Italian: negletto — abandoned, deserted, left behind
  • Italian: derelitto — abandoned, deserted, left behind
  • Italian: dimenticato — abandoned, deserted, left behind
  • Korean: 버림받다 (beorimbatda) — abandoned, deserted, left behind
  • Macedonian: на́пуштен (nápušten) — abandoned, deserted, left behind
  • Macedonian: о́ставен (óstaven) — abandoned, deserted, left behind
  • Māori: pākatokato — abandoned, deserted, left behind
  • Māori: mahue — abandoned, deserted, left behind
  • Occitan: abandonat — abandoned, deserted, left behind
  • Polish: samotny — abandoned, deserted, left behind
  • Polish: opuszczony — abandoned, deserted, left behind
  • Polish: zagubiony — abandoned, deserted, left behind
  • Portuguese: abandonado — abandoned, deserted, left behind
  • Russian: забро́шенный (zabróšennyj) — abandoned, deserted, left behind
  • Russian: поки́нутый (pokínutyj) — abandoned, deserted, left behind
  • Spanish: abandonado — abandoned, deserted, left behind
  • Swedish: övergiven — abandoned, deserted, left behind
  • Telugu: అనాథ (anātha) — abandoned, deserted, left behind
  • Ukrainian: покинутий (pokynutyj) — abandoned, deserted, left behind
  • Ukrainian: забутий (zabutyj) — abandoned, deserted, left behind
  • Arabic: مَنْبُوذ (manbūḏ) — miserable
  • Bulgarian: самотен (samoten) — miserable
  • Bulgarian: отчаян (otčajan) — miserable
  • Chamicuro: ishakatiskale — miserable
  • Chinese Mandarin: 悲慘 /悲惨 (bēicǎn) — miserable
  • Chinese Mandarin: 孤獨 /孤独 (gūdú) — miserable
  • Chinese Mandarin: 孤苦伶仃 (gūkǔlíngdīng) — miserable
  • Czech: nešťastný — miserable
  • Czech: zoufalý — miserable
  • Dutch: miserabel — miserable
  • Dutch: hopeloos — miserable
  • Finnish: hylätty — miserable
  • French: misérable — miserable
  • German: verlassen — miserable
  • Greek: άθλιος (áthlios) — miserable
  • Greek: ελεεινός (eleeinós) — miserable
  • Greek: έρημος (érimos) — miserable
  • Ancient Greek: λιπερνής (lipernḗs) — miserable
  • Hungarian: nyomorult — miserable
  • Irish: dearóil — miserable
  • Italian: miserevole — miserable
  • Korean: 쓸쓸하다 (sseulsseulhada) — miserable
  • Macedonian: не́среќен (nésreḱen) — miserable
  • Macedonian: са́мотен (sámoten) — miserable
  • Malay: kesepian — miserable
  • Māori: pākatokato — miserable
  • Māori: pūkatokato — miserable
  • Polish: beznadziejny — miserable
  • Polish: niepocieszony — miserable
  • Portuguese: desamparado — miserable
  • Russian: несча́стный (nesčástnyj) — miserable
  • Russian: одино́кий (odinókij) — miserable
  • Russian: жа́лкий (žálkij) — miserable
  • Spanish: desamparado — miserable
  • Swedish: förtvivlad — miserable
  • Ukrainian: нещасний (neščasnyj) — miserable
  • Ukrainian: самотній (samotnij) — miserable
  • Catalan: desesperat — unlikely to succeed
  • Chinese Mandarin: 不可能成功的 (bùkěnéng chénggōng de) — unlikely to succeed
  • Czech: zoufalý — unlikely to succeed
  • Czech: marný — unlikely to succeed
  • Finnish: epätoivoinen — unlikely to succeed
  • French: désespéré — unlikely to succeed
  • German: aussichtslos — unlikely to succeed
  • German: hoffnungslos — unlikely to succeed
  • Macedonian: безна́дежен (beznádežen) — unlikely to succeed
  • Polish: stracony — unlikely to succeed
  • Polish: beznadziejny — unlikely to succeed
  • Russian: безнадёжный (beznadjóžnyj) — unlikely to succeed
  • Spanish: desesperado — unlikely to succeed
  • Swedish: fåfäng — unlikely to succeed
  • Ukrainian: безнадійний (beznadijnyj) — unlikely to succeed
  • Ukrainian: марний (marnyj) — unlikely to succeed
  • Ukrainian: відчайдушний (vidčajdušnyj) — unlikely to succeed