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

San Diego is preparing to offer the forlorn and soon-to-be empty municipal building on the outskirts of the Civic Center for sale or lease. —Jennifer Van Grove, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 July 2025

Now you were nailed to one spot, wearing this forlorn or broken expression. —Lily Meyer, The Atlantic, 27 June 2025

But that’s not the case at the post office, still and forever foul and forlorn. —Jenny Allen, New Yorker, 19 June 2025

In the formerly forlorn Flon warehouse district, Street Cellar is a fun casual eatery and wine bar among a whole slew of such venues that fill up with young people in the evening. —John Oseid, Forbes.com, 24 June 2025