Forlorn

Pronunciation

• IPA: /fɔɹˈlɔɹn/
• Rhymes: -ɔː(r)n

Origin

From Middle English forlorn, forloren, from Old English forloren (past participle of forlēosan ("to lose")), from Proto-Germanic *fraluzanaz ("lost"), past participle of Proto-Germanic *fraleusaną ("to lose"), equivalent to - + lorn. Cognate with Dutch verloren ("lost"), German verloren ("lost"), Swedish förlorad ("lost"). More at lese/leese, lorn.

Verb

1. (obsolete) Past participle of forlese

Full definition of forlorn

Adjective

1. Abandoned, left behind, deserted.
• Edmund Spenser (c.1552–1599)Of fortune and of hope at once forlorn.
• William Shakespeare (1564-1616)Some say that ravens foster forlorn children.
2. Miserable, as when lonely being abandoned.
• Oliver Goldsmith (1730-1774)For here forlorn and lost I tread.
• William H. Prescott (1796-1859)The condition of the besieged in the mean time was forlorn in the extreme.
• Mowbray Thomson (1832-1917)She cherished the forlorn hope that he was still living in captivity
• 1922, Ben Travers, A Cuckoo in the Nest Chapter 6, Sophia broke down here. Even at this moment she was subconsciously comparing her rendering of the part of the forlorn bride with Miss Marie Lohr's.

Derived terms

• forlorn hope
• forlornness
• forlornly

Synonyms

• (miserable) forsaken