Forlorn Hope Definition

noun
A group of soldiers detached from the main group for a very dangerous mission.
Webster's New World
An arduous or nearly hopeless undertaking.
American Heritage
A desperate undertaking; enterprise with very little chance of success.
Webster's New World
An advance guard of troops sent on a hazardous mission.
American Heritage
A faint hope.
Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Forlorn Hope

Noun

Singular:
forlorn hope
Plural:
forlorn-hopes

Origin of Forlorn Hope

  • By folk etymology from Dutch verloren hoop advance guard verloren past participle of verliezen to lose leu- in Indo-European roots hoop troop

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • From forlorn + hope, in part-translation of Dutch verloren hoop ‘lost troop’.

    From Wiktionary

Forlorn Hope Sentence Examples

  • The disorders in Naples and Sicily in 1837 had no connection with Mazzini, but the forlorn hope of the brothers Bandiera, who in 1844 landed on the Calabrian coast, was the work of the Giovane Italia.

  • At first Livingstone thought the Nile problem had been all but solved by Speke, Baker and Burton, but the idea grew upon him that the Nile sources must be sought farther south, and his last journey became in the end a forlorn hope in search of the "fountains" of Herodotus.

  • After the defeat of Charles Albert's forlorn hope at Novara in March the Venetian assembly voted "Resistance at all costs!"

  • Meanwhile a fleet was raised for their relief by Carlo Zeno in the Levant, and the admiral Vittore Pisani, who had been imprisoned after the defeat at Pola, was released to lead their forlorn hope from the city side.

  • But the whole expedition was a forlorn hope.

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Words Starting With

FFOFOR

Words Ending With

EPEOPE

Unscrambles

forlorn hope

Words Starting With F and Ending With E

Starts With F & Ends With EStarts With FO & Ends With EStarts With F & Ends With PE

Word Length

12 Letter Words12 Letter Words Starting With F12 Letter Words Ending With E