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
Previous episodes showed a future vision of an aged, forlorn Blackthorne on his English deathbed.
—Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 24 Apr. 2024
Jiang placed orders that helped resuscitate Russia’s forlorn military-industrial complex and modernize China’s own weapons production and military.
—Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 18 Apr. 2024
On this sunny weekday afternoon, the area isn’t quite swarmed, but it is consistently occupied with a new group of fans and an increasing stream of local journalists arriving every few minutes, incidentally obstructing traffic and drawing forlorn looks from the neighbors.
—Rachel Handler, Vulture, 18 Apr. 2024
Before long, Sasha, in his forlorn wanderlust, has split up with Zakhar and fallen in with a fellow-Bolshevik named Stepan Kopionkin.
—Benjamin Kunkel, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024
But the dinosaur looks forlorn, listless, depressed.
—Patrick House, The New Yorker, 19 Mar. 2024
Embedded with layers of forlorn melodies and sullen acoustic guitar, the track is a masterpiece of melancholy.
—Peter A. Berry, Variety, 15 Mar. 2024
The landscape and its issues felt similar: the effects of forest fires, the melting permafrost revealing itself in cracks that splice through forlorn buildings, and giant plugs of tundra that collapse like soufflés.
—Sophy Roberts, Condé Nast Traveler, 29 Feb. 2024
Venus is a personal affair that shows listeners different sides of the Scandinavian pop star, but that doesn’t mean every song is a forlorn reflection on past relationships or other traumas.
—Chris Malone Méndez, Forbes, 10 Feb. 2024
Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 24 Apr. 2024
Jiang placed orders that helped resuscitate Russia’s forlorn military-industrial complex and modernize China’s own weapons production and military.
—Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 18 Apr. 2024
On this sunny weekday afternoon, the area isn’t quite swarmed, but it is consistently occupied with a new group of fans and an increasing stream of local journalists arriving every few minutes, incidentally obstructing traffic and drawing forlorn looks from the neighbors.
—Rachel Handler, Vulture, 18 Apr. 2024
Before long, Sasha, in his forlorn wanderlust, has split up with Zakhar and fallen in with a fellow-Bolshevik named Stepan Kopionkin.
—Benjamin Kunkel, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024
But the dinosaur looks forlorn, listless, depressed.
—Patrick House, The New Yorker, 19 Mar. 2024
Embedded with layers of forlorn melodies and sullen acoustic guitar, the track is a masterpiece of melancholy.
—Peter A. Berry, Variety, 15 Mar. 2024
The landscape and its issues felt similar: the effects of forest fires, the melting permafrost revealing itself in cracks that splice through forlorn buildings, and giant plugs of tundra that collapse like soufflés.
—Sophy Roberts, Condé Nast Traveler, 29 Feb. 2024
Venus is a personal affair that shows listeners different sides of the Scandinavian pop star, but that doesn’t mean every song is a forlorn reflection on past relationships or other traumas.
—Chris Malone Méndez, Forbes, 10 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'forlorn.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near forlorn
Cite this Entry
“Forlorn.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/forlorn. Accessed 1 May. 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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