forlorn

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   Abandoned, deserted, left behind.

   • For miſerie doth braueſt mindes abate, / And make them ſeeke for that they wont to ſcorne, / Of fortune and of hope at once forlorne.
   • Some ſay that Rauens foſter forlorne children, / The vvhilſt their ovvne birds famiſh in their neſts: / Oh be to me though thy hard hart ſay no, / Nothing ſo kinde but ſomething pittifull.
   • More join us at Colwall and at the lovely station at Great Malvern, although the place is in need of some TLC nowadays. The ornate canopy supports are overdue a repaint, and the closed cafe gives the place a forlorn air.
2. 2

   Pitifully sad, wretched, miserable

   Pitifully sad, wretched, miserable; lonely, especially from feeling abandoned, deserted, forsaken.

   • For here forlorn and loſt I tread, / With fainting ſteps and ſlow; / Where wilds immeaſurably ſpread, / Seem lengthening as I go.
   • This is the Maiden all forlorn, That milked the Cow with the crumpled Horn[.]
   • The condition of the besieged, in the mean time, was forlorn in the extreme; not so much from want of food, though their supplies were scanty, as from excessive toil and exposure.
3. 3

   Unlikely to succeed

   Unlikely to succeed; hopeless.

   • Well! It is a forlorn hope at the best, and not much the forlorner for being delayed till dark.
4. ›+ 3 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      A forlorn hope.

   2. 5

      A member of a forlorn hope.

   3. 6

      past participle of forlese.

The neighborhood

• neighborforlorn hope
• neighborlovelorn