forlorn Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. adjective satellite marked by or showing hopelessness
    • the last forlorn attempt
    • a forlorn cause

WordNet

For*lorn" adjective
Etymology
OE., p.p. of forlesen to lose utterly, AS. forleósan (p.p. forloren); pref. for- + leósan (in comp.) to lose; cf. D. verliezen to lose, G. verlieren, Sw. förlora, Dan. forloren, Goth. fraliusan to lose. See For-, and Lorn, a., Lose, v. t.
Definitions
  1. Deserted abandoned; lost.
    Of fortune and of hope at once forlorn. Spenser.
    Some say that ravens foster forlorn children. Shak.
  2. Destitute; helpless; in pitiful plight; wretched; miserable; almost hopeless; desperate.
    For here forlorn and lost I tread. Goldsmith.
    The condition of the besieged in the mean time was forlorn in the extreme. Prescott.
    She cherished the forlorn hope that he was still living. Thomson.
    Syn. -- Destitute, lost; abandoned; forsaken; solitary; helpless; friendless; hopeless; abject; wretched; miserable; pitiable.
For*lorn" noun
Definitions
  1. A lost, forsaken, or solitary person.
    Forced to live in Scotland a forlorn. Shak.
  2. A forlorn hope; a vanguard. Obs.
    Our forlorn of horse marched within a mile of the enemy. Oliver Cromvell.

Webster 1913