Definition of Forlorn hope

1. Noun. A hopeless or desperate enterprise.

Generic synonyms: Endeavor, Endeavour, Enterprise

Definition of Forlorn hope

1. Noun. (military) A small troop picked to make an advance attack, or the first attack; a storming party. ¹

2. Noun. Any dangerous or hopeless venture. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Lexicographical Neighbors of Forlorn Hope

forlese
forleses
forlesing
forlesings
forlest
forlet
forlets
forletting
forlie
forlighten
forlive
forlong
forloppin
forlore
forlorn
forlorn hope
forlorn hopes
forlorner
forlornest
forlornity
forlornly
forlornness
forlornnesses
forlorns
form
form'd
form-only(a)
form division

Literary usage of Forlorn hope

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. A Select Glossary of English Words Used Formerly in Senses Different from by Richard Chenevix Trench (1865)
"This is quite true, and it comes remarkably out in my first quotation from Holland; just as in a retreat they are the ' forlorn hope' (Swedish Intelligencer ..."

2. From Manassas to Appomattox: Memoirs of the Civil War in America by James Longstreet (1908)
"The Battle-field veiled by a Heavy Fog—Terrific Fighting of the 13th of December—forlorn hope of the Federals—General Meade's Division of Franklin's Command ..."

3. The Ancient Régime by Hippolyte Taine (1881)
"The forlorn hope of the philosophic party.—Naigeon, Sylvain Mar£chal, Mably, Morelly.—The entire discredit of traditions and institutions derived from it. ..."

4. Works by Washington Irving (1895)
"... and his forlorn hope—Their Generous Enterprise—Their Fate—Consternation and Despair of the Village—Solemn Obsequies—Attempt at Indian Trade—Hudson's Bay ..."

5. The Adventures of Captain Bonneville, U.S.A., in the Rocky Mountains and the by Washington Irving, Benjamin Louis Eulalie de Bonneville (1898)
"... and his forlorn hope—Their Generous Enterprise—Their Fate—Consternation and Despair of the Village—Solemn Obsequies—Attempt at Indian Trade—Hudson's Bay ..."

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