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# hopeless

«hopeless» in Mova's school dictionary: **no chance that things will get better** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 2 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

adjective (hopeless; more hopeless, most hopeless)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Without any hope; when there is no chance that things will get better. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hopeless/#m1)

2) Very bad at something: «I'm hopeless at drawing». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hopeless/#m2)

3) Impossible to deal with or solve: «a hopeless mess». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hopeless/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In stories it shows despair: «a hopeless situation», «felt hopeless». In everyday talk people jokingly say they are «hopeless at» a skill. In wellbeing lessons: if you feel hopeless for a long time, talk to a trusted adult — things can get better.

### examples

- The game looked hopeless when we were five goals down. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hopeless/#x1)
- I'm hopeless at maths, but I'm getting better. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hopeless/#x2)
- The lost sailors felt hopeless on the empty sea. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hopeless/#x3)
- My brother is hopeless at keeping secrets. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hopeless/#x4)
- The knot was a hopeless tangle. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hopeless/#x5)
- Never feel hopeless; ask someone for help. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hopeless/#x6)
- Dad is hopeless at remembering birthdays. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hopeless/#x7)
- Of course he felt quite hopeless. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hopeless/#x8)

### note

«-less» means «without»: hope → hopeless (without hope), like «careless», «homeless». Opposite: «hopeful». Adverb: «hopelessly» («hopelessly lost»). «Hopeless at» + a skill is informal and often not meant seriously.

### In the corpora

- [Croquet with live animals is hopeless.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/16-alice-the-queens-croquet-ground-2/0/)
- [Two years later Chloe wanted to get into the school football team and was hopeless at passing.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/380-maddie-and-chloes-plaits/13/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «hopeless» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hopeless/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.
