hopeless
hope·less/ˈhoʊplɪs/adjective
hopeless is spelled H-O-P-E-L-E-S-S: 8 letters and 2 syllables (hope·less). It appears 5.1 times per million words in written English, the 11,015th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, hopeless means “Without hope; despairing; not expecting anything positive” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in hopeless?
| Letters | 8: H-O-P-E-L-E-S-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: hope·less |
| In writing | 5.1 times per million words; the 11,015th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is hopeless?
Hopeless appears 5.1 times per million words in written English, the 11,015th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce hopeless?
- UK /ˈhəʊplɪs/
- US /ˈhoʊplɪs/
Hopeless has 2 syllables, split hope·less in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-hopeless.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of hopeless
- more hopeless comparative
- most hopeless superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does hopeless mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Without hope; despairing; not expecting anything positive.
- 2
Giving no ground of hope; promising nothing desirable; desperate.
- 3
Without talent, not skilled.
He's a hopeless writer, but can draw very well.
- 4
Of an adverse condition, incurable.
She is a hopeless romantic.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Hopeless in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense destitute of hope; having no expectation of good; despairing:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | désespéré |
| German | hoffnungslos |
| Portuguese | desesperado, desesperançado |
| Spanish | desesperanzado, sin esperanza (s) |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does hopeless come from?
From hope + -less. Compare Swedish hopplös.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).