unhopeful

From Middle English unhopful, unhopfulle, equivalent to un- +‎ hopeful.

unhopeful (comparative more unhopeful, superlative most unhopeful)

1. Not hopeful.
   • 1897, R.W. Church, Occasional Papers‎^[1]:

     As a young man, his was a severe and unhopeful mind, and the tendency to despond was increased by circumstances.

   • 1904, Various, Memories of Jane Cunningham Croly, "Jenny June"‎^[2]:

     His pessimistic and unhopeful temperament was doubtless due to inherent and hereditary bodily weakness, and to the lack of muscular cultivation in his youth, which might have modified inherent tendencies.

   • 2025 July 24, Ned Temko, “In Japan, too, voters want their country to be ‘great again’”, in The Christian Science Monitor:

     [W]hile policies matter, the tougher challenge is to answer the visceral appeal of the populists and to reengage with voters who feel economically stuck, unhopeful about their future, and unwilling to trust the same old politicians to improve things.

unhopeful (plural unhopefuls)

1. Somebody who is unlikely to achieve success or victory.