feckless

adjective

feck·​less ˈfek-ləs How to pronounce feckless (audio)
1
: weak, ineffective
She can't rely on her feckless son.
2
: worthless, irresponsible
a feckless maneuver that could only serve to strengthen the enemySimon Schama
fecklessly adverb
fecklessness noun

Did you know?

Someone feckless is lacking in feck. And what, you may ask, is feck? In Scots—our source of fecklessfeck means "majority" or "effect." The term is ultimately an alteration of the Middle English effect. So something without feck is without effect, or ineffective. In the past, feckful (meaning "efficient, effective," "sturdy," or "powerful") made an occasional appearance. But in this case, the weak has outlived the strong: feckless is a commonly used English word, but feckful has fallen out of use.

Examples of feckless in a Sentence

She can't rely on her feckless son. a well-intentioned but feckless response to the rise in school violence
Recent Examples on the Web The liberal-arts college in Boston is facing the consequences of its feckless response to student protests. Matthew X. Wilson, National Review, 20 June 2024 Cece has her own ideas on the subject, but Joel, feckless in his professional and personal commitments alike, proves to be even more of an obstacle to their realization than Marcel is. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 12 June 2024 The federal government’s feckless response should be studied, too. Bill Hammond, New York Daily News, 4 Mar. 2024 However, this is the same feckless governor whose Department of Transportation, much to the chagrin of a legion of environmentally conscious citizens, has and continues to cut down hundreds of thousands of CO2-absorbing trees along the state’s highways. Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 19 Jan. 2024 See all Example Sentences for feckless 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'feckless.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Scots, from feck effect, majority, from Middle English (Scots) fek, alteration of Middle English effect

First Known Use

circa 1585, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of feckless was circa 1585

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Dictionary Entries Near feckless

Cite this Entry

“Feckless.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/feckless. Accessed 2 Jul. 2024.

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