Synonyms of forlorn

forlorn

adjective

fər-ˈlȯrn 

1

as in sad

feeling unhappiness

she was forlorn when she found out the trip had been cancelled

Synonyms & Similar Words

• sad
• unhappy
• depressed
• heartbroken
• miserable
• melancholy
• sorry
• bad
• mournful
• sorrowful
• upset
• dejected
• hopeless
• woebegone
• worried
• disconsolate
• doleful
• uneasy
• gloomy
• melancholic
• downcast
• troubled
• disappointed
• glum
• crestfallen
• heartsick
• despondent
• joyless
• wretched
• inconsolable
• woeful
• hangdog
• blue
• brokenhearted
• droopy
• distressed
• saddened
• depressing
• downhearted
• suicidal
• down
• low-spirited
• heavyhearted
• heartsore
• despairing
• low
• down in the mouth
• discouraged
• aggrieved
• tearful
• dispirited
• desolate
• bleak
• cast down
• unquiet
• grieving
• sunk
• weeping
• somber
• plaintive
• anguished
• lugubrious
• disheartened
• regretful
• dolorous
• sullen
• cheerless
• morbid
• lachrymose
• morose
• sombre
• grey
• rueful
• wailing
• dismal
• gray
• agonized
• dreary
• dark
• comfortless
• elegiac
• drear
• saturnine
• funereal
• black
• darkening
• murky
• elegiacal

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• cheerful
• joyous
• joyful
• jubilant
• happy
• cheery
• blissful
• gleeful
• buoyant
• sunny
• glad
• exuberant
• upbeat
• exultant
• buoyed
• ecstatic
• rapturous
• delighted
• enraptured
• merry
• jolly
• euphoric
• jovial
• optimistic
• hopeful
• rhapsodic
• chipper
• mirthful
• blithe
• excited
• jocund
• rosy
• jocular
• jocose
• sanguine
• elated
• exhilarated
• rhapsodical
• gladsome
• overjoyed
• gladdened
• spirited
• vital
• blithesome
• energetic
• smiling
• perky
• entranced
• vivacious
• lively
• sprightly
• jaunty
• frisky
• satisfied
• lightsome
• animated
• content
• bouncing
• springy
• laughing
• peppy
• unconcerned
• encouraged
• careless
• pleased
• grinning
• thrilled
• carefree
• gratified
• zippy
• insouciant
• lighthearted
• easygoing
• cavalier
• heartened
• beaming
• boon
• sprightful
• happy-go-lucky
• devil-may-care

2

as in lonely

sad from lack of companionship or separation from others

a forlorn wanderer far from home

Synonyms & Similar Words

• lonely
• lone
• lonesome
• desolate
• solitary
• lorn
• deserted
• neglected
• rejected
• friendless
• forgotten
• abandoned
• forsaken
• alone
• unaccompanied
• only
• sole
• solo

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• accompanied
• attended
• escorted

3

as in bleak

causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer

a forlorn little town whose brief economic boom ended decades ago

Synonyms & Similar Words

• lonely
• bleak
• desolate
• somber
• dark
• depressing
• depressive
• darkening
• lonesome
• solemn
• murky
• gray
• morbid
• grey
• cold
• miserable
• wretched
• blue
• depressed
• sad
• sullen
• cheerless
• disconsolate
• black
• morose
• gloomy
• sombre
• glum
• dismal
• dreary
• lugubrious
• comfortless
• elegiac
• drear
• funereal
• chill
• melancholy
• sepulchral
• dire
• saturnine
• oppressive
• cloudy
• desperate
• dejected
• unhappy
• woebegone
• godforsaken
• hopeless
• tenebrous
• elegiacal
• mournful
• dreich
• melancholic
• despondent
• plutonian
• dull
• sunless
• inconsolable
• dim
• Cimmerian
• woeful
• grim
• hangdog
• tenebrific
• mirthless
• sorrowful
• distressful
• droopy
• discouraging
• negative
• dispiriting
• menacing
• pessimistic
• dismaying
• plaintive
• discomfiting
• distressing
• upsetting
• low
• disheartening
• drab
• down
• lamentable
• dour
• colorless
• threatening
• louring
• lowering
• loury
• lowery

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• cheerful
• bright
• friendly
• cheery
• festive
• comforting
• gay
• joyous
• cordial
• joyful
• sunshiny
• merry
• jolly
• buoyant
• gay
• optimistic
• hopeful
• mirthful
• blithe
• encouraging
• cheering
• heartwarming
• blithesome
• jocund
• lighthearted
• lightsome

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• desperate
• hopeless
• sad
• unhappy
• mournful
• despairing
• disappointed
• bleak
• cynical
• despondent
• melancholy
• heartbroken
• dark
• depressed
• dejected
• woebegone
• depressing
• sorrowful
• disconsolate
• doleful
• miserable
• gloomy
• downcast
• accepting
• glum
• crestfallen
• heartsick
• blue
• joyless
• dispirited
• desolate
• abject
• inconsolable
• weeping
• woeful
• discouraged
• hangdog
• sorry
• wretched
• brokenhearted
• cheerless
• grieving
• saddened
• wailing
• low
• disheartened
• downhearted
• dismal
• resigned
• dreary
• comfortless
• low-spirited
• drear
• down
• heartsore
• pessimistic
• funereal

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• optimistic
• hopeful
• exuberant
• exultant
• ecstatic
• enraptured
• euphoric
• merry
• jolly
• jovial
• mirthful
• blithe
• gay
• elated
• exhilarated
• cheerful
• joyous
• perky
• entranced
• jocund
• vivacious
• blithesome
• joyful
• lively
• sprightly
• jubilant
• happy
• cheery
• jaunty
• blissful
• gleeful
• animated
• buoyant
• encouraged
• sunny
• glad
• lightsome
• upbeat
• delighted
• chipper
• heartened
• sprightful
• gladsome
• gladdened

Synonym Chooser

How is the word forlorn distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of forlorn are alone, desolate, lonely, lonesome, lone, and solitary. While all these words mean "isolated from others," forlorn stresses dejection, woe, and listlessness at separation from one held dear.

a forlorn lost child

When could alone be used to replace forlorn?

While the synonyms alone and forlorn are close in meaning, alone stresses the objective fact of being by oneself with slighter notion of emotional involvement than most of the remaining terms.

everyone needs to be alone sometimes

When is it sensible to use desolate instead of forlorn?

The meanings of desolate and forlorn largely overlap; however, desolate implies inconsolable grief at loss or bereavement.

desolate after her brother's death

How does the word lone relate to other synonyms for forlorn?

Lone may replace lonely or lonesome but typically is as objective as alone.

a lone robin pecking at the lawn

How are the words lonely and solitary related as synonyms of forlorn?

Lonely adds to solitary a suggestion of longing for companionship.

felt lonely and forsaken

When would lonesome be a good substitute for forlorn?

While in some cases nearly identical to forlorn, lonesome heightens the suggestion of sadness and poignancy.

an only child often leads a lonesome life

When is solitary a more appropriate choice than forlorn?

The words solitary and forlorn can be used in similar contexts, but solitary may indicate isolation as a chosen course, but more often it suggests sadness and a sense of loss.

glorying in the calm of her solitary life

left solitary by the death of his wife

Example Sentences

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