hapless.

Unlucky or unable to avoid repeated misfortune.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• hapless victim
• hapless traveler

On the page

The hapless courier arrived after the bridge had closed.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: Comparative more hapless; superlative most hapless when comparison is meaningful. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: character, description. Commonness: moderately common.