Forlorn

5 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Forlorn \For*lorn"\, a. [OE., p. p. of forlesen to lose utterly,
     AS. forle['o]san (p. p. forloren); pref. for- + le['o]san (in
     comp.) to lose; cf. D. verliezen to lose, G. verlieren, Sw.
     f["o]rlora, Dan. forloren, Goth. fraliusan to lose. See
     {For-}, and {Lorn}, a., {Lose}, v. t.]
     1. Deserted; abandoned; lost.


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              Of fortune and of hope at once forlorn. --Spenser.
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              Some say that ravens foster forlorn children.
                                                    --Shak.
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     2. Destitute; helpless; in pitiful plight; wretched;
        miserable; almost hopeless; desperate.
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              For here forlorn and lost I tread.    --Goldsmith.
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              The condition of the besieged in the mean time was
              forlorn in the extreme.               --Prescott.
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              She cherished the forlorn hope that he was still
              living.                               --Thomson.
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     {A forlorn hope} [D. verloren hoop, prop., a lost band or
        troop; verloren, p. p. of verliezen to lose + hoop band;
        akin to E. heap. See {For-}, and {Heap}.] (Mil.), a body
        of men (called in F. {enfants perdus}, in G. {verlornen
        posten}) selected, usually from volunteers, to attempt a
        breach, scale the wall of a fortress, or perform other
        extraordinarily perilous service; also, a desperate case
        or enterprise.
  
     Syn: Destitute, lost; abandoned; forsaken; solitary;
          helpless; friendless; hopeless; abject; wretched;
          miserable; pitiable.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Forlese \For*lese"\, v. t. [p. p. {Forlore}, {Forlorn}.] [OE.
     forlesen. See {Forlorn}.]
     To lose utterly. [Obs.] --haucer.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Forlorn \For*lorn"\, n.
     1. A lost, forsaken, or solitary person.
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              Forced to live in Scotland a forlorn. --Shak.
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     2. A forlorn hope; a vanguard. [Obs.]
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              Our forlorn of horse marched within a mile of the
              enemy.                                --Oliver
                                                    Cromvell.
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From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  forlorn
       adj 1: pitiable in circumstances especially through abandonment;
              "desolate and despairing"; "left forlorn" [syn: {desolate},
               {godforsaken}, {lorn}]
       2: marked by or showing hopelessness; "the last forlorn
          attempt"; "a forlorn cause"

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  75 Moby Thesaurus words for "forlorn":
     abandoned, affording no hope, alone, apathetic, bereft, bleak,
     cheerless, comfortless, cynical, defenseless, dejected, depressed,
     deserted, desolate, desole, despairing, desperate, despondent,
     desponding, disconsolate, dismal, dispirited, dolorous, down,
     fatherless, forgotten, forsaken, friendless, fruitless, futile,
     gloomy, glum, godforsaken, grim, heartsick, heartsore, helpless,
     homeless, hopeless, in despair, inconsolable, joyless, kithless,
     lonely, lonesome, lost, low-spirited, lugubrious, melancholy,
     miserable, motherless, mournful, neglected, oppressed, outcast,
     pathetic, pessimistic, pitiable, pitiful, sad, shunned, sick,
     sick at heart, solitary, sorrowful, soul-sick, unconsolable,
     unfriended, unhappy, unhopeful, vain, without hope, woebegone,
     woeful, wretched