hopeless

/ˈhəʊpləs/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈhəʊpləs/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈhō-pləs/ (ame, mw)

hopeless — 形容詞

  • hopelesspositive
  • more hopelesscomparative
  • most hopelesssuperlative

1. Feeling or showing that you no longer expect anything good to happen and believe

1.形容詞B1
釋義

絕望的

感到或表現出沒有希望的

Feeling or showing that you no longer expect anything good to happen and believe a situation will not get better.

例句

Stephanie felt hopeless after the doctor told her the treatment had not worked.

醫生告訴 Stephanie 治療無效後，她感到十分絕望。

feel hopeless about + noun/gerund

By the third hour of searching the dark forest, the rescue seemed completely hopeless.

在漆黑的森林裡搜尋了三個小時後，救援工作似乎已完全絕望。

同義詞
  • despairing

    more intense, focused on a specific emotional moment

  • despondent

    more formal, describing a long-lasting low mood

反義詞
  • hopeful

    expecting something good to happen

  • optimistic

    expecting the best possible outcome

文法句型

feel + hopeless + about + noun/gerund

seem/look + hopeless

用法筆記

Can describe both a person's internal emotional state (She felt hopeless about her job) and a situation viewed as having no chance of improvement (a hopeless case). Often followed by 'about' plus a noun or gerund.

常見錯誤

❌She is hopeless to get better.
✅She feels hopeless about getting better.
💡'hopeless' is an adjective describing a state, not followed by an infinitive.

2. Having very little ability or skill in a particular activity; extremely bad at d

2.形容詞B1
釋義

不擅長

在某方面完全缺乏能力的

Having very little ability or skill in a particular activity; extremely bad at doing something.

例句

Dario is hopeless at cooking — he once set off the smoke alarm while making toast.

Dario 非常不擅長烹飪——他曾經烤吐司時把廚房的煙霧警報器都弄響了。

be hopeless at + noun/gerund

Léa tried to assemble the bookshelf herself, then realised she was hopeless with tools.

Léa 試著自己組裝書架，但很快就發現自己完全不會使用工具。

同義詞
反義詞
  • skilled

    having the ability to do something well

  • talented

    naturally good at something

文法句型

be + hopeless + at + noun/gerund

be + hopeless + with + noun

用法筆記

Typically followed by 'at' (hopeless at cooking) to specify an activity, or 'with' (hopeless with tools) to specify a category of things. NOT used before a noun to describe a person in this sense — 'a hopeless singer' could be read as sense 4 (extremely bad, dismissively).

常見錯誤

❌I am hopeless in maths.
✅I am hopeless at maths.
💡the correct preposition is 'at', not 'in'.

3. So badly planned or designed that success is not possible; certain to result in

3.形容詞B2
釋義

無望的

註定失敗或無法實現的

So badly planned or designed that success is not possible; certain to result in failure.

例句

The company's plan to attract customers without any advertising seemed hopeless from the start.

這家公司不靠任何廣告就打算吸引顧客，這項計劃從一開始就顯得無望。

seemed hopeless — describing a doomed plan

Sana knew that cleaning the flooded basement with only a mop was a hopeless task.

Sana 知道只用一支拖把清理淹水的地下室是一項無望的任務。

同義詞
  • impossible

    stronger and more absolute

  • futile

    more formal, emphasising wasted effort

反義詞

文法句型

seem/appear + hopeless

a + hopeless + noun (task/cause/effort)

用法筆記

Used for plans, tasks, efforts, and strategies — not for people or their emotions. Distinguish from sense 1, which describes a feeling or emotional state; sense 3 describes an objective assessment that something cannot succeed.

常見錯誤

❌He felt hopeless about winning the match' (when describing a doomed effort, not an emotion).
✅His attempt to win the match was hopeless.
💡use sense 3 for the situation itself, not the person's feeling.

4. So poor in quality, behaviour, or condition that it seems impossible to improve

4.形容詞B2
釋義

糟透的

品質極差或無可救藥的

So poor in quality, behaviour, or condition that it seems impossible to improve or fix.

例句

The heating system in Tunde's apartment was hopeless — the radiators stayed cold all winter.

Tunde 住處的暖氣系統糟透了——散熱片整個冬天都是冷的。

hopeless [noun] — describing a badly functioning system

Élise complained that the hotel's Wi-Fi was hopeless and kept disconnecting every few minutes.

Élise 抱怨飯店的無線網路糟透了，每隔幾分鐘就斷線。

同義詞
  • awful

    neutral register, equally common

  • terrible

    everyday word for very bad quality

  • atrocious

    stronger and more formal

反義詞

文法句型

be + hopeless

a + hopeless + noun (service/system/handwriting)

用法筆記

Informal and emphatic — stronger than 'very bad'. Common in spoken English to criticise quality, service, or behaviour. Often used without a preposition: 'The Wi-Fi is hopeless' (not 'hopeless at' or 'hopeless with').

常見錯誤

❌This restaurant's service is hopeless at.
✅This restaurant's service is hopeless.
💡no preposition needed when describing quality directly.