hopeless
hopeless — adjective
1. Feeling or showing that you no longer expect anything good to happen and believe
Feeling or showing that you no longer expect anything good to happen and believe a situation will not get better.
Stephanie felt hopeless after the doctor told her the treatment had not worked.
feel hopeless about + noun/gerund
By the third hour of searching the dark forest, the rescue seemed completely hopeless.
Eitan gazed at the ruined farm with a hopeless expression, unable to rebuild alone.
The counsellor told Tanvi that feeling hopeless was normal after such a difficult loss.
- despairing
more intense, focused on a specific emotional moment
- despondent
more formal, describing a long-lasting low mood
- hopeful
expecting something good to happen
- optimistic
expecting the best possible outcome
文法句型
feel + hopeless + about + noun/gerund
seem/look + hopeless
用法筆記
Can describe both a person's internal emotional state (She felt hopeless about her job) and a situation viewed as having no chance of improvement (a hopeless case). Often followed by 'about' plus a noun or gerund.
常見錯誤
2. Having very little ability or skill in a particular activity; extremely bad at d
Having very little ability or skill in a particular activity; extremely bad at doing something.
Dario is hopeless at cooking — he once set off the smoke alarm while making toast.
be hopeless at + noun/gerund
Léa tried to assemble the bookshelf herself, then realised she was hopeless with tools.
Eve is hopeless at remembering names and needs people to remind her more than once.
Antonia admitted she was hopeless with directions and got lost going to a nearby cafe.
- useless
informal and broader in meaning
- incompetent
more formal, often used in work contexts
文法句型
be + hopeless + at + noun/gerund
be + hopeless + with + noun
用法筆記
Typically followed by 'at' (hopeless at cooking) to specify an activity, or 'with' (hopeless with tools) to specify a category of things. NOT used before a noun to describe a person in this sense — 'a hopeless singer' could be read as sense 4 (extremely bad, dismissively).
常見錯誤
3. So badly planned or designed that success is not possible; certain to result in
So badly planned or designed that success is not possible; certain to result in failure.
The company's plan to attract customers without any advertising seemed hopeless from the start.
seemed hopeless — describing a doomed plan
Sana knew that cleaning the flooded basement with only a mop was a hopeless task.
The small army launched a hopeless attack against a much larger force with better weapons.
The peace talks between the two countries appeared hopeless after another bombing killed dozens.
- impossible
stronger and more absolute
- futile
more formal, emphasising wasted effort
- promising
showing signs of future success
- achievable
able to be accomplished
文法句型
seem/appear + hopeless
a + hopeless + noun (task/cause/effort)
用法筆記
Used for plans, tasks, efforts, and strategies — not for people or their emotions. Distinguish from sense 1, which describes a feeling or emotional state; sense 3 describes an objective assessment that something cannot succeed.
常見錯誤
4. So poor in quality, behaviour, or condition that it seems impossible to improve
So poor in quality, behaviour, or condition that it seems impossible to improve or fix.
The heating system in Tunde's apartment was hopeless — the radiators stayed cold all winter.
hopeless [noun] — describing a badly functioning system
Élise complained that the hotel's Wi-Fi was hopeless and kept disconnecting every few minutes.
The traffic in this city is hopeless during rush hour, and nothing seems to improve.
Salma's time management is hopeless — she arrived late for every meeting last month.
文法句型
be + hopeless
a + hopeless + noun (service/system/handwriting)
用法筆記
Informal and emphatic — stronger than 'very bad'. Common in spoken English to criticise quality, service, or behaviour. Often used without a preposition: 'The Wi-Fi is hopeless' (not 'hopeless at' or 'hopeless with').