fə’lɔ:n
■ adjective
pitifully sad and lonely.
unlikely to succeed or be fulfilled.

forlorn hope a persistent or desperate hope that is unlikely to be fulfilled. [C16: from Du. verloren hoop ‘lost troop’, orig. denoting a band of soldiers picked to begin an attack, many of whom would not survive.]

forlornly adverb
forlornness noun

OE forloren ‘depraved’, past participle of forlēosan ‘lose’, of Gmc origin; ult. related to for- and lose.
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Concise Oxford Thesaurus
forlorn
▶ adjective
he sounded forlorn: UNHAPPY, sad, miserable, sorrowful, dejected, despondent, disconsolate, wretched, abject, down, downcast, dispirited, downhearted, crestfallen, depressed, melancholy, gloomy, glum, mournful, despairing, doleful, woebegone; informal blue, down in the mouth, down in the dumps, fed up; formal lachrymose.
a forlorn garden: DESOLATE, deserted, abandoned, forsaken, forgotten, neglected.
a forlorn attempt: HOPELESS, with no chance of success; useless, futile, pointless, purposeless, vain, unavailing, nugatory; archaic bootless.

happy, busy, cared for, hopeful, sure-fire.
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EngMac
forlorn
безнадежен, оставен, напуштен, безизгледен; a. напуштен, оставен, отфрлен; /2/ несреќен; напуштен
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English-Serbian dictionary
Forlorn
Usamljen-Napusten-Bedan-Bespomocan-Ostavljen
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Merriam-Webster Collegiate® Dictionary
for·lorn
Pronunciation: fər-‘lȯrn, fȯr-
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English forloren, from Old English, past participle of forlēosan to lose, from for- + lēosan to lose ― more at LOSE
Date: before 12th century

1 a : BEREFT, FORSAKEN b : sad and lonely because of isolation or desertion : DESOLATE
2 : being in poor condition : MISERABLE, WRETCHED
3 : nearly hopeless
synonyms see ALONE
–for·lorn·ly adverb
–for·lorn·ness \-‘lȯrn-nəs\ noun
forlorn hope
Function: noun
Etymology: by folk etymology from Dutch verloren hoop, literally, lost band
Date: 1579

1 : a body of men selected to perform a perilous service
2 : a desperate or extremely difficult enterprise