Forlorn

Feeling or expressing isolation, abandonment, and unhappiness; marked by or expressing a sense of loss or hopelessness; desolate or wretched, often due to being alone or neglected. It evokes a deep sense of sorrow and pity, stemming from the awareness of being left alone, forgotten, or deprived of something essential. The state often results in a visible sadness and despair and conveys the feeling of being abandoned or overlooked by life and others.

Forlorn meaning with examples

• The old lighthouse keeper, weathered by years of solitude and the crashing waves, cut a forlorn figure against the stormy coastline. His face, etched with the hardship of his lonely existence, spoke of a life filled with unspoken longing and a sense of utter abandonment to the harsh conditions.
• After the village was ravaged by war, the few survivors wandered the desolate streets, each displaying a forlorn expression. The destruction of their homes and community left them lost and adrift, bereft of the connections that once sustained them and their former, happy lives.
• The abandoned puppy whimpered in the rain, its forlorn eyes searching the street for a familiar face, its body shivering with cold and loneliness. It had been left alone, its fate uncertain. It knew little but had now learned pain, the deep, raw sorrow of feeling unwanted and forgotten.
• She read the rejection letter, a wave of forlornness washing over her as the dream that had fueled her for years crumbled away. The realization of failure hung over her like a shroud, isolating her from the bright promise she had once envisioned for her future.