Forlorn

Podcast 1 · Introduction

Forlorn

A documentary-style narration: origin, meaning, and feel.

Part of speech

adjective

Pronunciation

fuh-LORN  /fəˈlɔːn/

Definition

Pitifully sad and abandoned; appearing lonely and unhappy; (of a hope or attempt) unlikely to succeed; desperate.

Plain meaning

Forlorn means pitifully sad, abandoned, or hopeless — a forlorn figure, a forlorn hope, a forlorn expression.

Register

Literary and elevated. The word has an archaic, poetic quality in contemporary English. Chosen deliberately for its emotional weight.