W. H. Whyte
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Hapless means exactly what you'd expect it to mean: "without hap"—hap being another word for fortune or luck. Hap comes from the Old Norse word for "good luck," which is also the source of happen and happy. English has several words to describe those lacking good fortune, including ill-starred, ill-fated, unlucky, and luckless, a word formed in parallel to hapless by adding the suffix -less. Ill-starred suggests bringing calamity or the threat of a terrible fate ("the ill-starred year the Great Depression began"). Ill-fated refers only to being doomed ("the ill-fated voyage of the Titanic"). Unlucky and luckless usually apply to a person or thing notably or chronically unfortunate ("an unlucky slots player," "some luckless investors swindled in the deal"). Hapless is often imbued with a touch of pity, humor, or both for those to whom it refers, as in "a hapless goalie who couldn't block a shot to save his life."
Examples of hapless in a Sentence
Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 13 May 2026
Joined by her hapless but loyal classmate Curtis Mehlberg (Jacob Tremblay), Prue navigates a world of talking animals, bandits, and powerful figures driven by grief and ambition.
—Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 13 May 2026
In one scene from the sequel, Miranda struggles to hang up her own coat in a bit of hapless slapstick that serves to defang the dragon lady.
—Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 11 May 2026
Eduardo Rodriguez came within two outs of his first major league complete game, Ryan Waldschmidt had his first three big league RBIs and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the hapless New York Mets 5-1 on Sunday.
—Cbs New York Team, CBS News, 10 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for hapless
Cite this Entry
“Hapless.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hapless. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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hapless
adjective
