W. H. Whyte
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Hapless literally means what you'd expect it to mean: "without hap"—hap being another word for fortune or luck. Hap derives from the Old Norse word for "good luck," a word that is also the source of our 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").
Examples of hapless in a Sentence
Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 26 Apr. 2025
The feds then demanded more and Armstrong is now gone, with hapless Columbia on its fourth president in less than two years.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 15 Apr. 2025
With that impetus gone, women’s standards for romantic partners have skyrocketed, leaving these hapless men unable to get a girlfriend.
—Constance Grady, Vox, 14 Apr. 2025
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This particular assignment was to illustrate an essay by P.G. Wodehouse, the British author and humorist who created Jeeves, the consummate butler to the hapless Bertie Wooster.
—Penelope Green, New York Times, 14 Apr. 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 1 May. 2025.
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hapless
adjective
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