feckless
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feckless
- /ˈfɛkləs/ US, UK
- /ˈfɛklɪs/ US, UK
Rhymes with -ɛkləs, -ɛklɪs
Where it comes from
From Scots feckless, variant of Scots fectless (“ineffectual”) (an aphetic variant of effectless), equivalent to effect + -less.
adjective more feckless · most feckless
- Lacking purpose. It is the beauty of great games when they are played at their highest level and the extraordinary thing now is that we do not have to trawl back through all the years of your inexorable progress from feckless beach boy to master sportsman.
-
Without skill, ineffective, incompetent.
This was the West Lancashire Railway, an ambitious but feckless little concern which, in a life lasting a quarter of a century, never earned a dividend, failed to keep up its debenture payments (despite a dangerous attempt to do so by issuing more debentures) and ended up in the hands of a receiver.
Similar: futile, hopeless, ineffective, ineffectual, feeble, meaningless, useless, unpurposed, worthless, aimless, careless, reckless
- Lacking the courage to act in any meaningful way. China is “proving to be a feckless friend for its authoritarian allies,” Nicholas Burns, the U.S. ambassador to China under President Joe Biden, wrote on X.
- Lacking vitality.
Opposite: effective, efficient, meaningful, useful, purposeful, careful, responsible
Thesaurus
adjective
Opposite: effective, efficient, meaningful, useful, purposeful, careful, responsible
Translations
Every language
adj lacking purpose
| Français | irréfléchi, irresponsable |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | nichtsnutzig, nutzlos, ziellos |
| Ελληνικά | άσκοπος áskopos |
| Română | ineficient, inutil |
| Русский | бесце́льный bescélʹnyj, напра́сный naprásnyj |
adj without skill, ineffective
| Français | incapable |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | unfähig, untauglich, wirkungslos, ineffizient, ineffektiv |
| Ελληνικά | ανίκανος aníkanos |
| Русский | бесполе́зный bespoléznyj, вя́лый vjályj |
adj lacking the courage to act in any meaningful way
| Deutsch | schwach, mutlos, schlaff, matt, unmotiviert |
|---|---|
| Ελληνικά | άβουλος ávoulos |
| Русский | беспо́мощный bespómoščnyj |
Talk about this word "feckless." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/feckless. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. feckless. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/feckless "feckless." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/feckless.Cite this
@misc{feckless_2026,
title = {feckless},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/feckless},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
