Dictionary

feckless en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˈfɛklɪs/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
• (US) audio
• (Australia) audio
• /ˈfɛkləs/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From Scots feckless, variant of Scots fectless (“ineffectual”) (an aphetic variant of effectless), equivalent to effect + -less.

Meanings

1. 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. 2005 September 10, Canberra Times:
2. Without skill, ineffective, incompetent.
   • “Lana, when I want you to talk, I will tell you. And until then, zip it.” “Wha-- what did I do?” “Nothing.” “Yeah, Lana.” “Which is why these feckless idiots lost 200 kilos of cocaine.” “Yeah, Lan-- oh. OK. Technically. But then we stole a plane loaded with, like, twice as much cocaine.” “Is this the part where you tell me to look under my seat?” 2014 March 24, Adam Reed, “On the Carpet” (4:14 from the start), in Archer, season 5, episode 9, spoken by Malory Archer (Jessica Walter):
   • Across the country, Democratic voters who have been reeling from Mr. Trump’s sweeping and possibly illegal cuts to government, his head-spinning policy moves, and his politicization of federal law enforcement are growing more and more incensed at their own party’s seemingly feckless response. 2025 March 20, Cameron Joseph, “Panicked Democratic voters are turning on their own leaders”, in The Christian Science Monitor, archived from the original on 30 Mar 2025:
   • 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. 1960 March 14, M. D. Greville and G. O. Holt, “Railway Development in Preston—2”, in Railway Magazine, page 201:
3. 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. 2026 March 6, Charlie Campbell, quoting Nicholas Burns, “The Iran War Has Distracted and Depleted the U.S. Military. But It May Also Have Saved Taiwan”, in Time, archived from the original on 06 Mar 2026, World:
4. (UK, archaic) Lacking vitality.

Forms

Antonyms

useful (antonym(s) of “weak, ineffective”) · efficient (antonym(s) of “weak, ineffective”) · purposeful (antonym(s) of “worthless, irresponsible”) · meaningful (antonym(s) of “weak, ineffective”) · careful (antonym(s) of “worthless, irresponsible”) · effective (antonym(s) of “weak, ineffective”) · responsible (antonym(s) of “worthless, irresponsible”)

Relateds

fecklessly · fecklessness

Synonyms

reckless (worthless, irresponsible) · ineffectual (ineffective) · aimless (worthless, irresponsible) · useless (ineffective) · hopeless (ineffective) · irresponsible (worthless, irresponsible) · unpurposed (worthless, irresponsible) · careless (worthless, irresponsible) · feeble (ineffective) · meaningless (ineffective) · futile (ineffective) · worthless (worthless, irresponsible) · ineffective (ineffective)

Translations (71)

nl onhandig (without skill, ineffective) · da uduelig (without skill, ineffective) · de nichtsnutzig (lacking purpose) · ro ineficient (lacking purpose) · bg вял (lacking vitality) · el ανίκανος (without skill, ineffective) · fi aikaansaamaton (without skill, ineffective) · de schlaff (lacking the courage to act in any meaningful way) · nl futloos (lacking vitality) · bg безполезен (without skill, ineffective) · de wirkungslos (without skill, ineffective) · io nekapabla (without skill, ineffective) · da initiativløs (lacking purpose) · de untauglich (without skill, ineffective) · el ασθενής (lacking vitality) · fr irresponsable (lacking purpose) · fi tahdoton (lacking the courage to act in any meaningful way) · el άσκοπος (lacking purpose) · bg безцелен (lacking purpose) · sv rådlös (lacking purpose) · yue 冇出息嘅 (without skill, ineffective) · fi saamaton (lacking vitality) · da hjælpeløs (without skill, ineffective) · sv oduglig (without skill, ineffective) · fr incapable (without skill, ineffective) · da hjælpeløs (lacking purpose) · bg слаб (lacking vitality) · no hjelpeløs (without skill, ineffective) · de kraftlos (lacking vitality) · fr irréfléchi (lacking purpose) · fi neuvoton (lacking the courage to act in any meaningful way) · ro inutil (lacking purpose) · fi heikkotahtoinen (lacking vitality) · de matt (lacking the courage to act in any meaningful way) · de ziellos (lacking purpose) · fi pystymätön (without skill, ineffective) · no hjelpeløs (lacking purpose) · ru вя́лый (lacking vitality) · fi joutavanpäiväinen (lacking purpose) · sv hjälplös (lacking purpose) · ru сла́бый (lacking vitality) · no initiativløs (lacking purpose) · ru беспо́мощный (lacking the courage to act in any meaningful way) · fi heikkoluonteinen (lacking the courage to act in any meaningful way) · bg безпомощен (lacking the courage to act in any meaningful way) · fi päämäärätön (lacking purpose) · de unfähig (without skill, ineffective) · no ubehjelpelig (without skill, ineffective) · el άβουλος (lacking the courage to act in any meaningful way) · de schwach (lacking the courage to act in any meaningful way) · de unmotiviert (lacking the courage to act in any meaningful way) · de mutlos (lacking the courage to act in any meaningful way) · yue 廢嘅 /废嘅 (lacking purpose) · fi saamaton (without skill, ineffective) · ru бесце́льный (lacking purpose) · de nutzlos (lacking purpose) · nl doelloos (lacking purpose) · ru напра́сный (lacking purpose) · ru бесполе́зный (without skill, ineffective) · de lahmarschig (lacking vitality) · nl inefficiënt (without skill, ineffective) · no udugelig (without skill, ineffective) · ru вя́лый (without skill, ineffective) · fi saamaton (lacking the courage to act in any meaningful way) · de ineffektiv (without skill, ineffective) · bg напразен (lacking purpose) · nl lamlendig (lacking the courage to act in any meaningful way) · bg вял (without skill, ineffective) · de schlapp (lacking vitality) · de ineffizient (without skill, ineffective) · fi avuton (without skill, ineffective)