hopeless

/ˈhəʊplɪs/

//ˈhəʊplɪs// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"hopeless" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“hopeless” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #11,042. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#11,042
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Without hope; despairing; not expecting anything positive.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hopeless · hopeless · English

hopeless · rank #11,042 · 10 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #11,042
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH hooker

Nearest frequency peer: hooker (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “hopeless”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “hopeless” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

hopeless vs hopelessly
80% similar
hopeless vs hapless
75% similar
hopeless vs homeless
88% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for hopeless
PropertyValue
Headwordhopeless
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈhəʊplɪs/
Letters8
Frequency rank#11,042
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “hopeless”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).hopelesslands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “hooker” (#11,041), “hourly” (#11,043), “hazardous” (#11,040). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “hopeless” is #11,042. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around hopeless (IPA /ˈhəʊplɪs/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #11,042 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for hopeless, with forms such as "hhopeless", "hoepless", and "hopeelss". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "hopelessly", "hapless", "homeless", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From hope + -less, compare Swedish hopplös. The correct English form is hopeless, spelled H-O-P-E-L-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Without hope; despairing; not expecting anything positive.
  2. 2
    Giving no ground of hope; promising nothing desirable; desperate.
  3. 3
    Without talent, not skilled.
  4. 4
    Incurable.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how hopeless appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. I am a woman, friendless, hopeless.
  2. And he a prince; To marry him is hopeleſſe;

Etymology

From hope + -less, compare Swedish hopplös.

Synonyms

desperateunhopefulforlorn

Antonyms

hopeful

This word in other languages

desesperado(Español)désespéré(Français)hoffnungslos(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hhopeless
  • hoepless
  • hopeelss
  • hopeles
  • hopelless
  • hopelses
  • hopleess
  • hoppeless
  • hpoeless
  • ohpeless

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of hopeless - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

hhopeless1hoepless2hopeelss2hopeles1hopelless1hopelses2hopleess2hoppeless1
Edit distance from "hopeless"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "hopeless"?
"hopeless" is spelled H-O-P-E-L-E-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhəʊplɪs/.
What does "hopeless" mean?
As an adjective, "hopeless" means: Without hope; despairing; not expecting anything positive.
What words are commonly confused with "hopeless"?
"hopeless" is commonly confused with "hopelessly", "hapless", "homeless". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "hopeless"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hopeless" is /ˈhəʊplɪs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "hopeless"?
From hope + -less, compare Swedish hopplös. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "hopeless", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

infrared#11,049friction#11,033downward#11,025doctor's#11,024

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

guiding10 variantsinsists10 variantsJacques10 variantsCyprus10 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list