can't win

Jump To:

despairing adj.
desperate adj.

ADJECTIVE

despairing

Synonyms

STRONGEST

grief-stricken melancholic melancholy pessimistic suicidal

STRONG

blue dejected depressed oppressed sunk

WEAK

anxious at end of one's rope brokenhearted cynical desperate disconsolate downcast forlorn frantic hopeless in pain in the dumps in the pits in the soup inconsolable miserable no-win not a prayer sad shot down strabilious weighed down wretched

Antonyms

STRONG

cheerful encouraged happy joyous

WEAK

confident expectant hopeful

ADJECTIVE

desperate

Synonyms

STRONGEST

despondent forlorn futile sad vain

STRONG

downcast goner

WEAK

at end of one's rope back to the wall dead duck despairing desponding gone hard up in the soup in the toilet inconsolable irrecoverable irremediable irretrievable no chance no-win running out of time sunk up against it up the creek useless wretched

Antonyms

STRONGEST

cheerful happy hopeful joyful

WEAK

calm confident content contented satisfactory satisfied secure unworried

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

can't win

"You can't win year after year after year after year, like the Patriots or the Yankees. They're bandwagon hoppers, they love to get on the bandwagon for a good team, and that's not soccer."

From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026

When you can’t win on the merits, try a technicality.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026

It would be foolish to say Susan Collins can’t win again.

From Slate ● Jun. 16, 2026

It may not be great for Meta if Facebook and Instagram can’t win users early, but a blanket ban won’t help Meta’s rivals either, Walmsley said.

From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026

“You can still be part of the show-and-tell area; you just can’t win any awards.”

From "Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer" by Kelly Jones

can't win

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Related Words