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
George Calhoun, Forbes.com, 30 July 2025
Of course, facing Ohio State will be much more challenging and revealing than Manning’s undressing of hapless Mississippi State with 325 passing yards in September 2024.
—Blake Toppmeyer, USA TODAY, 24 July 2025
Ansari and Reeves sit down with Entertainment Weekly to dissect the trailer, also sharing tidbits about how Reeves' past comedic roles — notably, the hapless Ted from the Bill & Ted film franchise — helped lay the groundwork for Gabriel.
—EW.com, 23 July 2025
Despite the overwhelming evidence of the terrorist attacks, hapless conspiracists will continue to argue that about 3,000 people were murdered by Americans on 9/11.
—Chicago Tribune, 18 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for hapless
Cite this Entry
“Hapless.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hapless. Accessed 5 Aug. 2025.
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hapless
adjective
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