vain hope
Doomed hopeful thinking
A vain hope is one that will almost certainly come to nothing—a wish sustained despite clear signs it won't be fulfilled.
The phrase carries a note of pathos: She clung to the vain hope that he might still be alive.
Unlike false hope, which implies deception, vain hope acknowledges the holder's awareness that expectation exceeds likelihood.
- wishfulDriven by desire
- futileIncapable of producing results
- forlornSad and abandoned
- desperateDriven by urgent need
- slim chanceLow probability outcome
long shot · delusion · dream · fantasy · illusion · longing · yearning · fruitless · empty · hollow · doomed · foolish · naive · blind · grasping · grasping at straws · chasing · wild goose chase
vain hopereasonable expectation
Justified belief about likelihood
sure thing · certainty · safe bet · foregone conclusion · good chance
vain hoperesignation
Voluntary relinquishment of position
acceptance · despair · hopelessness · fatalism · realism
vain, hope, vainly, vainness, vanity, vainglory, vainglorious, hopes, hoped