[ fə'lɔ:n ]
■ adjective
1》 pitifully sad and lonely.
2》 unlikely to succeed or be fulfilled.
Phrases
~ hope a persistent or desperate hope that is unlikely to be fulfilled. [C16: from Du. verloren hoop 'lost troop', orig. denoting a band of soldiers picked to begin an attack, many of whom would not survive.]
Derivatives
~ly adverb
~ness noun
Origin
OE forloren 'depraved', past participle of forlēosan 'lose', of Gmc origin; ult. related to for- and lose .