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Definition of Forlorn
1. Adjective. Marked by or showing hopelessness. "A forlorn cause"
Definition of Forlorn
1. a. Deserted; abandoned; lost.
2. n. A lost, forsaken, or solitary person.
Definition of Forlorn
1. Verb. (obsolete) (past participle of forlese) ¹
2. Adjective. abandoned, left behind, deserted ¹
3. Adjective. miserable, as when lonely being abandoned. ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Definition of Forlorn
1. dreary [adj -LORNER, -LORNEST] - See also: dreary
Medical Definition of Forlorn
1. 1. Deserted abandoned; lost. "Of fortune and of hope at once forlorn." (Spenser) "Some say that ravens foster forlorn children." (Shak) 2. Destitute; helpless; in pitiful plight; wretched; miserable; almost hopeless; desperate. "For here forlorn and lost I tread." (Goldsmith) "The condition of the besieged in the mean time was forlorn in the extreme." (Prescott) "She cherished the forlorn hope that he was still living." (Thomson) A forlorn hope [D. Verloren hoop, prop, a lost band or troop; verloren, p.p. Of verliezen to lose + hoop band; akin to E. Heap. See For-, and Heap. A body of men (called in F. Enfants perdus, in G. Verloren posten) selected, usually from volunteers, to attempt a breach, scale the wall of a fortress, or perform other extraordinarily perilous service; also, a desperate case or enterprise. Synonym: Destitute, lost, abandoned, forsaken, solitary, helpless, friendless, hopeless, abject, wretched, miserable, pitiable. Origin: OE, p.p. Of forlesen to lose utterly, AS. Forleosan (p.p. Forloren); pref. For- + leosan (in comp) to lose; cf. D. Verliezen to lose, G. Verlieren, Sw. Forlora, Dan. Forloren, Goth. Fraliusan to lose. See For-, and Lorn, Lose. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)
Lexicographical Neighbors of Forlorn
Literary usage of Forlorn
Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:
1. A Complete Word and Phrase Concordance to the Poems and Songs of Robert by J. B. Reid (1889)
"forlorn, my Love, no comfort near, S. forlorn, my Love t But Oh ! what crouds in
ev'ry land, But 'tis not my sufferings, thus wretched, forlorn, ..."
2. The Iliad of Homer by Homer, John Graham Cordery (1871)
"And I must yet live on forlorn, and wretched of this utter woe ! 550 Thou, who
wast still my glory day and night In royal Ilion, and through Troy the stay ..."
3. The Works of Robert Burns by Robert Burns (1839)
"forlorn, my love, no comfort near, Far, far from thee, I wander here ; Far, far
from thee, the fate severe At which I most repine, love. ..."
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