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hope‧less S3
1 if something that you try to do is hopeless, there is no possibility of it being successful : 
We tried to stop the flames from spreading, but we knew it was hopeless.
We tried to stop the flames from spreading, but we knew it was hopeless.2 a hopeless situation is so bad that there is no chance of success or improvement : The situation is not as hopeless as it might seem. the millions who live in hopeless poverty
The situation is not as hopeless as it might seem.the millions who live in hopeless poverty3 especially British English informal very bad [= terrible]: I'm a hopeless cook. I've got a hopeless memory. The public transport system was absolutely hopeless.
I'm a hopeless cook.I've got a hopeless memory.The public transport system was absolutely hopeless.4 feeling no hope : I began to feel lonely and hopeless.
I began to feel lonely and hopeless.5 used, often humorously, to say that someone's bad behaviour cannot be changed :
hopeless romantic/materialist/drunk etc She was a hopeless romantic, always convinced that one day she would meet the man of her dreams.
She was a hopeless romantic, always convinced that one day she would meet the man of her dreams. —hopelessness noun [uncountable]
WORD FOCUS: bad WORD FOCUS: bad very bad: awful, terrible, horrible, lousy informal, appalling, ghastly, atrocious, horrendous
bad, but not very bad: not very good, mediocre, second-rate, so-so, lacklustre
of bad quality: shoddy, inferior, poor quality, cheap, crummy informal
bad at doing something: be no good at something
very bad at doing something: hopeless, terrible, useless, lousy informal, incompetent
morally bad: evil, wicked, immoral, corrupt, sick, perverted, degenerate
➔ See also bad
