1
as in sad
feeling unhappiness
she was forlorn when she found out the trip had been cancelled
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2
as in lonely
sad from lack of companionship or separation from others
a forlorn wanderer far from home
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3
as in bleak
causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer
a forlorn little town whose brief economic boom ended decades ago
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4
as in desperate
feeling or showing no hope
the forlorn expression of a candidate who knows that he hasn't a prayer of winning the election
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of forlorn
Today, many are boarded up, lying forlorn and derelict or caught in legal tangles between former owners’ descendants; others have been demolished to make way for modern developments, with the antiques and timber sold off by owners.
—
Kalpana Sunder, CNN, 11 Mar. 2025
Watch on Deadline Dusty is a quiet guy and O’Connor, probably not a casting director’s idea of a cowboy, really manages to show us who this young man is, often with just his forlorn facial expressions rather than the limited dialogue he is given in many scenes.
—Pete Hammond, Deadline, 26 Jan. 2025
The area still had a slightly forlorn air, with stores boarded up and a few tent villages.
—Tony Perrottet, Travel + Leisure, 25 Jan. 2025
But across the street from Sherwood’s gorgeous new house — white with dark trim and cheerful flowers in the front yard — is still an empty lot, a forlorn swimming pool surrounded by chain-link fencing the only reminder of what used to be.
—Jessica Garrison, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for forlorn
Kalpana Sunder, CNN, 11 Mar. 2025
Watch on Deadline Dusty is a quiet guy and O’Connor, probably not a casting director’s idea of a cowboy, really manages to show us who this young man is, often with just his forlorn facial expressions rather than the limited dialogue he is given in many scenes.
—Pete Hammond, Deadline, 26 Jan. 2025
The area still had a slightly forlorn air, with stores boarded up and a few tent villages.
—Tony Perrottet, Travel + Leisure, 25 Jan. 2025
But across the street from Sherwood’s gorgeous new house — white with dark trim and cheerful flowers in the front yard — is still an empty lot, a forlorn swimming pool surrounded by chain-link fencing the only reminder of what used to be.
—Jessica Garrison, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for forlorn
Recent Examples of Synonyms for forlorn
Adjective
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Kwong grew up hearing stories of every kind about Manzanar—scary, sad, funny and infuriating.—
Rachel Ng,
Smithsonian Magazine,
27 Mar. 2025
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Yet, whatever the deal means for Paul, Weiss, its acquiescence to Trump marks a sad day for the legal profession—or what once was a profession, and is now just another business.—
Ruth Marcus,
New Yorker,
27 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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This keeps us lonely at a time when the loneliness public health crisis is at an all-time high.—
Priya Vulchi,
Time,
9 Apr. 2025
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Ro, now a police officer, needs help investigating the death 22 years earlier of their classmate, Ricky, killed in a hit-and-run on a lonely county road.—
Mary Ann Grossmann,
Twin Cities,
6 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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All of these episodes have different types of endings: There’s bleak to total cliffhanger to sentimental.—
Jackie Strause,
HollywoodReporter,
11 Apr. 2025
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Some practical frameworks and strategies enable leaders to maintain stability, foster engagement, and position their teams for success even when the economic outlook appears bleak.—
Kara Dennison, SPHR, CPRW, EC,
Forbes.com,
9 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The Escape As terror swept through the city, thousands of desperate Alawites fled.—
Christina Goldbaum,
New York Times,
20 Apr. 2025
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The quiet city of Medford, Oregon was shaken by Maggie Friar's desperate 911 call in the early morning hours of Oct. 2, 2017.—
Natalie Morales, Richard Fetzer,
CBS News,
19 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Despite his close relationship with Trump, Elon Musk is unhappy about tariffs, which stand to hurt the business empire of the world’s richest man.—
Danielle Chemtob,
Forbes.com,
9 Apr. 2025
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There have even been reports of police being called to deal with the rowdy behavior, not to mention some theater employees who are unhappy about the cleanup required.—
Lisa Respers France,
CNN Money,
8 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Fourteen years of war have left the country desolate, and its people exhausted; millions have been displaced or were forced to become refugees.—
Raghed Waked & Justin Salhani,
The Dial,
25 Mar. 2025
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That quality is maintained first and foremost by a desolate whistling-wind sound effect in the background of all the scenes, along with a sustained droning musical score.—
Ben Coxworth,
New Atlas,
14 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Previewing the playoffs with a playoff team draft Finding 3 positive thoughts for each of the NHL’s 15 most hopeless teams 16 stats: Blues’ turnaround, Lane Hutson’s stardom and Stars’ struggles Comments D Dan N. · 4h 17m ago Helle is thee best.—
Scott Powers,
New York Times,
11 Apr. 2025
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Mimi seesaws between hopeless heroin addict and righteous truth-teller.—
Jeffrey Seller,
Vulture,
11 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The detective here, blending a couple of characters from the book, is Inspector Leach, a depressed drinker so unkempt one wonders why he hasn’t been put on administrative leave.—
Robert Lloyd,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Apr. 2025
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To my dismay, the leader started feeling depressed rather than taking the actions that were most required.—
Sonal Jain,
Forbes.com,
15 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Forlorn.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forlorn. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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