1
3
: nearly hopeless
a forlorn attempt
forlornly
adverb
Synonyms
- bad
- blue
- brokenhearted
- cast down
- crestfallen
- dejected
- depressed
- despondent
- disconsolate
- doleful
- down
- down in the mouth
- downcast
- downhearted
- droopy
- gloomy
- glum
- hangdog
- heartbroken
- heartsick
- heartsore
- heavyhearted
- inconsolable
- joyless
- low
- low-spirited
- melancholic
- melancholy
- miserable
- mournful
- sad
- saddened
- sorrowful
- sorry
- unhappy
- woebegone
- woeful
- wretched
Examples of forlorn in a Sentence
Against the forlorn backdrop of the muddy terrain the media circus has left behind, the young mother is photographed for a fashion spread wearing a … white dress.
—
James Wolcott, Vanity Fair, September 1998
There is nothing quite so forlorn as a closed factory—Vic Wilcox knows, having supervised a shutdown himself in his time.
—David Lodge, Nice Work, 1990
Like Ozymandias, once king of kings but now two legs of a broken statue in Percy Shelley's desert, the great facade of Union Station in Washington, D.C., stands forlorn …
—Stephen Jay Gould, Natural History, November 1986
she was forlorn when she found out the trip had been cancelled
a forlorn wanderer far from home
James Wolcott, Vanity Fair, September 1998
There is nothing quite so forlorn as a closed factory—Vic Wilcox knows, having supervised a shutdown himself in his time.
—David Lodge, Nice Work, 1990
Like Ozymandias, once king of kings but now two legs of a broken statue in Percy Shelley's desert, the great facade of Union Station in Washington, D.C., stands forlorn …
—Stephen Jay Gould, Natural History, November 1986
she was forlorn when she found out the trip had been cancelled
a forlorn wanderer far from home
Recent Examples on the Web
Downtown, the nearly identical tents of the Harris/Walz and Trump/Vance campaigns stood separated by several hundred feet on one of the main streets, but almost no one collected posters or bumper stickers from either forlorn camp on a balmy but heavily overcast day.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
Duane Shabazz excels as our forlorn hero, leaning into Juicy’s awkwardness in an earnest way that endears him to the audience.
—Duante Beddingfield, Detroit Free Press, 25 Oct. 2024
That evening, then-mayor Jim Kenney held a forlorn press conference.
—Yiyun Li, Harper's Magazine, 23 Oct. 2024
What’s clear is that Alejandro has the ache in his voice that’s reminiscent of forlorn romantics like Pepe Aguilar and the timbre of Miguel.
—Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for forlorn 
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Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
Duane Shabazz excels as our forlorn hero, leaning into Juicy’s awkwardness in an earnest way that endears him to the audience.
—Duante Beddingfield, Detroit Free Press, 25 Oct. 2024
That evening, then-mayor Jim Kenney held a forlorn press conference.
—Yiyun Li, Harper's Magazine, 23 Oct. 2024
What’s clear is that Alejandro has the ache in his voice that’s reminiscent of forlorn romantics like Pepe Aguilar and the timbre of Miguel.
—Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for forlorn
Dictionary Entries Near forlorn
Cite this Entry
“Forlorn.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/forlorn. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
forlorn
adjective
for·lorn
fər-ˈlȯ(ə)rn 
fȯr-
1
: feeling sad and lonely especially because of being left alone
2
: nearly hopeless
a forlorn cause
forlornly
adverb
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