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 →

2) Very bad at something: «I'm hopeless at drawing». tree →

3) Impossible to deal with or solve: «a hopeless mess». tree →

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 →
• I'm hopeless at maths, but I'm getting better. tree →
• The lost sailors felt hopeless on the empty sea. tree →
• My brother is hopeless at keeping secrets. tree →
• The knot was a hopeless tangle. tree →
• Never feel hopeless; ask someone for help. tree →
• Dad is hopeless at remembering birthdays. tree →
• Of course he felt quite hopeless. tree →

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.
• Two years later Chloe wanted to get into the school football team and was hopeless at passing.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «hopeless» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.