adjective
forlorn
fer-LORN/fərˈlɔːrn/
Sad and lonely, as if abandoned or without hope.
The forlorn dog waits alone beside the empty bench.
Etymology
The pieces express being completely lost. As a surviving past participle of a verb meaning “lose” or “abandon,” forlorn developed from “forsaken” to the misery and loneliness of that condition.
In context
poor, unhappy, disgraced little Cissy Gay, ill and helpless in that forlorn old house out on the Mistawis road, without a soul to help or comfort her.
More examples
- The empty house has a forlorn appearance.
- He gives the departing train a forlorn wave.
- She sounds less forlorn after hearing from her friends.
Forms
forlorn · more forlorn · most forlorn
Similar words
- desolate
- Can suggest deeper emptiness or abandonment.
- woebegone
- Woebegone looks miserable; forlorn particularly suggests abandonment or lost hope.