hapless

adjective

hap·less ˈha-pləs

Synonyms of hapless next

: having no luck : unfortunate

tale of a hapless sailor

hapless beings caught in the grip of forces we can do little about—

W. H. Whyte

haplessly adverb

haplessness noun

Did you know?

Hapless literally means what you'd expect it to mean: "without hap"—hap being another word for fortune or luck. Hap derives from the Old Norse word for "good luck," a word that is also the source of our happen and happy. English has several words to describe those lacking good fortune, including ill-starred, ill-fated, unlucky, and luckless, a word formed in parallel to hapless by adding the suffix -less. Ill-starred suggests bringing calamity or the threat of a terrible fate ("the ill-starred year the Great Depression began"). Ill-fated refers only to being doomed ("the ill-fated voyage of the Titanic"). Unlucky and luckless usually apply to a person or thing notably or chronically unfortunate ("an unlucky slots player," "some luckless investors swindled in the deal").

Examples of hapless in a Sentence

She plays the hapless heroine who is unlucky in love. the hapless motorist had barely paid his bill and driven away from the body shop when a truck sideswiped his car

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

But just as endlessly funding the PA with few strings attached did not produce success, so, too, did unconditional support for the hapless Lebanese military, which wasted a fortune while Hezbollah only grew stronger. —

Elliott Abrams, Foreign Affairs, 7 Feb. 2025 Doc and Zoe, two hapless kidnappers, have only one job: to deliver a hostage to Fritz, a high-ranking corrupt police inspector operating a for-ransom kidnapping mill. —

Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 5 Feb. 2025 Final Destination was among the bleakest genre developments, locking its hapless teens into intractable fates, their foe the unknowable specter of death itself. —

Randall Colburn, EW.com, 4 Feb. 2025 James Paxton and Oliver Wyman play Sam and Alex, two hapless but lovable stoners, who accidentally find themselves in the service of crime lord, Charles (Robinson), when they are made to transport a mysterious box from LA to Vegas. —

Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 4 Feb. 2025 See all Example Sentences for hapless