Hapless-Hopeless | Commonly Confused Words
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Master confusing words with ease

Hapless vs. Hopeless

Hapless

/ˈhæpləs/
Having no luck; unfortunate.

Examples:

The hapless sailor struggled against the fierce storm.She consoled the hapless child who lost his kitten.It was a tale of a hapless quest that ended in disaster.

Synonyms:

Antonyms:

Hopeless

/ˈhəʊpləs/
Feeling or showing a lack of hope or expectation of a positive outcome

Examples:

The movie left me feeling a bit hopeless about the future.She tried to fix the leak, but it was a hopeless task.Their attempts at making peace seemed rather hopeless.

Synonyms:

Antonyms:

Ways to tell them apart:

etymology
  • Both hapless and hopeless end with less, suggesting a lack of something.
  • Hapless means unlucky or unfortunate, like someone who is always in the wrong place at the wrong time.
  • Hopeless means without hope, often used to describe situations that seem impossible to remedy.
  • Remember: Hapless relates to bad luck, while hopeless relates to lost hope.
  • Think of hap in hapless as happen, emphasizing what happens to a person, and hope in hopeless as losing hope.
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