| No. | Item | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | a dead loss | a complete failure |
| 2. | a goner | certain to be lost |
| 3. | a lost cause | something that cannot succeed |
| 4. | a nonstarter | something that cannot begin |
| 5. | adrift | without direction or hope |
| 6. | aimless | without purpose or direction |
| 7. | at a low ebb | at a very low point |
| 8. | at rock bottom | at the lowest point |
| 9. | beaten | overcome with no fight left |
| 10. | beyond help | unable to be helped |
| 11. | beyond hope | impossible to save or fix |
| 12. | beyond recovery | unable to recover |
| 13. | beyond repair | unable to be fixed |
| 14. | beyond saving | too damaged to rescue |
| 15. | black | very bleak and depressing |
| 16. | bleak | offering little or no hope |
| 17. | blocked | prevented from moving forward |
| 18. | broken | spiritually or emotionally defeated |
| 19. | can’t be done | impossible to accomplish |
| 20. | cheerless | lacking cheer or hope |
| 21. | cornered | left with no good options |
| 22. | crestfallen | sad and disappointed |
| 23. | crushed | overwhelmed and defeated |
| 24. | cynical | doubting good outcomes |
| 25. | dead-end | leading nowhere |
| 26. | defeated | beaten and demoralized |
| 27. | demoralized | having lost confidence and hope |
| 28. | despairing | feeling no hope |
| 29. | desperate | having lost hope |
| 30. | disheartened | having lost courage or hope |
| 31. | done for | ruined beyond saving |
| 32. | doomed | certain to fail |
| 33. | downcast | sad and discouraged |
| 34. | downhearted | feeling low and discouraged |
| 35. | fatalistic | expecting failure as inevitable |
| 36. | finished | ended with no chance |
| 37. | foiled | stopped from succeeding |
| 38. | forlorn | sad and without hope |
| 39. | fruitless | producing no results |
| 40. | futile | incapable of producing results |
| 41. | gloomy | dark and without hope |
| 42. | good-for-nothing | useless or ineffective |
| 43. | grim | harsh and without hope |
| 44. | hamstrung | severely limited in action |
| 45. | hemmed in | restricted with no way out |
| 46. | hobbled | made unable to progress |
| 47. | immobilized | unable to move or act |
| 48. | impossible | not able to be done |
| 49. | impracticable | not practical to do |
| 50. | in despair | without hope |
| 51. | incurable | unable to be cured |
| 52. | ineffectual | not producing the desired effect |
| 53. | infeasible | not possible to do |
| 54. | irredeemable | impossible to improve or save |
| 55. | long-shot | very unlikely to succeed |
| 56. | lost | unable to find a way forward |
| 57. | never going to work | certain not to succeed |
| 58. | no chance | no possibility of success |
| 59. | no way | not possible at all |
| 60. | nonviable | not able to succeed |
| 61. | not a chance | no possibility of success |
| 62. | not happening | not going to occur |
| 63. | out of hope | having no hope left |
| 64. | out of moves | having no actions left |
| 65. | out of options | having no choices left |
| 66. | out of reach | impossible to obtain |
| 67. | out of the question | not possible or acceptable |
| 68. | paralyzed | unable to act or decide |
| 69. | pessimistic | expecting the worst |
| 70. | pinned down | unable to move or act |
| 71. | pointless | having no purpose or value |
| 72. | powerless | unable to influence events |
| 73. | remote | very unlikely to happen |
| 74. | resigned | accepting defeat without hope |
| 75. | rudderless | without guidance or direction |
| 76. | ruined | damaged beyond repair |
| 77. | shot | worn out beyond use |
| 78. | slim | having little chance |
| 79. | spiritless | lacking spirit or hope |
| 80. | stuck | unable to make progress |
| 81. | stymied | blocked and unable to proceed |
| 82. | through | finished and unable to continue |
| 83. | thwarted | prevented from succeeding |
| 84. | trapped | unable to escape or change |
| 85. | unachievable | not possible to accomplish |
| 86. | unattainable | not possible to achieve |
| 87. | unfeasible | not practical or possible |
| 88. | unfixable | cannot be fixed |
| 89. | unrealizable | not possible to make real |
| 90. | unrecoverable | cannot be recovered |
| 91. | unsalvageable | cannot be saved |
| 92. | untenable | unable to be maintained |
| 93. | unviable | not capable of working |
| 94. | unworkable | not able to function |
| 95. | valueless | having no value |
| 96. | woeful | deeply sad and hopeless |
| 97. | world-weary | tired and disillusioned |
| 98. | worthless | having no value or use |
| 99. | wrecked | badly damaged and useless |
| 100. | wretched | very unhappy and hopeless |