Forlorn \For*lorn"\, a. [OE., p. p. of forlesen to lose utterly,
AS. forle['o]san (p. p. forloren); pref. for- + le['o]san (in
comp.) to lose; cf. D. verliezen to lose, G. verlieren, Sw.
f["o]rlora, Dan. forloren, Goth. fraliusan to lose. See
For-, and Lorn, a., Lose, v. t.]
1. Deserted; abandoned; lost.
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Of fortune and of hope at once forlorn. --Spenser.
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Some say that ravens foster forlorn children.
--Shak.
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2. Destitute; helpless; in pitiful plight; wretched;
miserable; almost hopeless; desperate.
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For here forlorn and lost I tread. --Goldsmith.
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The condition of the besieged in the mean time was
forlorn in the extreme. --Prescott.
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She cherished the forlorn hope that he was still
living. --Thomson.
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A forlorn hope [D. verloren hoop, prop., a lost band or
troop; verloren, p. p. of verliezen to lose + hoop band;
akin to E. heap. See For-, and Heap.] (Mil.), a body
of men (called in F. enfants perdus, in G. verlornen
posten) selected, usually from volunteers, to attempt a
breach, scale the wall of a fortress, or perform other
extraordinarily perilous service; also, a desperate case
or enterprise.
Syn: Destitute, lost; abandoned; forsaken; solitary;
helpless; friendless; hopeless; abject; wretched;
miserable; pitiable.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Forlese \For*lese"\, v. t. [p. p. Forlore, Forlorn.] [OE.
forlesen. See Forlorn.]
To lose utterly. [Obs.] --haucer.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Forlorn \For*lorn"\, n.
1. A lost, forsaken, or solitary person.
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Forced to live in Scotland a forlorn. --Shak.
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2. A forlorn hope; a vanguard. [Obs.]
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Our forlorn of horse marched within a mile of the
enemy. --Oliver
Cromvell.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
forlorn
adj 1: pitiable in circumstances especially through abandonment;
"desolate and despairing"; "left forlorn" [syn: desolate,
godforsaken, lorn]
2: marked by or showing hopelessness; "the last forlorn
attempt"; "a forlorn cause"
WordNet (r) 2.0
75 Moby Thesaurus words for "forlorn":
abandoned, affording no hope, alone, apathetic, bereft, bleak,
cheerless, comfortless, cynical, defenseless, dejected, depressed,
deserted, desolate, desole, despairing, desperate, despondent,
desponding, disconsolate, dismal, dispirited, dolorous, down,
fatherless, forgotten, forsaken, friendless, fruitless, futile,
gloomy, glum, godforsaken, grim, heartsick, heartsore, helpless,
homeless, hopeless, in despair, inconsolable, joyless, kithless,
lonely, lonesome, lost, low-spirited, lugubrious, melancholy,
miserable, motherless, mournful, neglected, oppressed, outcast,
pathetic, pessimistic, pitiable, pitiful, sad, shunned, sick,
sick at heart, solitary, sorrowful, soul-sick, unconsolable,
unfriended, unhappy, unhopeful, vain, without hope, woebegone,
woeful, wretched
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
desolate, godforsaken, lorn
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