Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day - hapless
overblik
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 21, 2025 is: hapless \HAP-lus\ adjective
Hapless means "having no luck." It's a synonym of [unfortunate](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unfortunate).
// The documentary follows a hapless victim of false allegations.
[See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hapless)
Examples:
"The New York Yankees had a nice, feel-good return to their spring training home this weekend by beating up on the hapless Tampa Bay Rays." — Kristie Ackert, Athlon Sports, 19 Apr. 2025
Did you know?
Hapless means exactly what you'd expect it to mean: "without hap"—[hap](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hap) being another word for [fortune](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fortune) or [luck](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/luck). Hap comes from the Old Norse word for "good luck," which is also the source of [happen](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/happen) and [happy](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/happy). English has several words to describe those lacking good fortune, including ill-starred, ill-fated, unlucky, and luckless, a word formed in parallel to hapless by adding the suffix [-less](https://bit.ly/4lLDGrQ). [Ill-starred](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ill-starred) suggests bringing calamity or the threat of a terrible fate ("the ill-starred year the Great Depression began"). [Ill-fated](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ill-fated) refers only to being doomed ("the ill-fated voyage of the Titanic"). [Unlucky](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unlucky) and [luckless](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/luckless) usually apply to a person or thing notably or chronically unfortunate ("an unlucky slots player," "some luckless investors swindled in the deal"). Hapless is often imbued with a touch of pity, humor, or both for those to whom it refers, as in "a hapless goalie who couldn't block a shot to save his life."