feckless

adjective

feck·less ˈfek-ləs

Synonyms of feckless next

: weak, ineffective

She can't rely on her feckless son.

: worthless, irresponsible

a feckless maneuver that could only serve to strengthen the enemy—

Simon Schama

fecklessly adverb

fecklessness noun

Did you know?

A feckless person is lacking in feck. And what, you may ask, is feck? In Scots—our source of feckless—feck means "majority" or "effect." The term is ultimately an alteration of the Middle English effect. So something without feck is without effect, i.e., ineffective. In the past, feckful (meaning "efficient, effective," "sturdy," or "powerful") made an occasional appearance, but in this case, the weak has outlived the strong: feckless is a commonly used English word, but feckful has proven, well, feckless.

Examples of feckless in a Sentence

She can't rely on her feckless son. a well-intentioned but feckless response to the rise in school violence

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.

The Republican president-elect frequently casts the outgoing Democratic president as a feckless leader who shredded American credibility around the world during his four-year term. —

Aamer Madhani and Zeke Miller, Los Angeles Times, 11 Dec. 2024 The proposal quickly drew criticism, with those who oppose a pay increase arguing that lawmakers are too feckless or otherwise undeserving of even a modest salary bump. —

Gord Magill, Newsweek, 19 Dec. 2024 Even so, without wagging a finger, Wexler manages to suggest the dark side of today’s youth’s feckless behavior. —

Arthur Knight, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Dec. 2024 But that feckless self-absorption is rerouted, if not extinguished, by a chance sighting of local resident Charlotte (Alison Pill). —

Dennis Harvey, Variety, 13 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for feckless