Basic Details
Word: Hopeful
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Feeling or showing hope that something good will happen; also likely to turn out well.
Synonyms: optimistic, confident, expectant
Antonyms: hopeless, despairing, pessimistic
How to Spell Hopeful
Syllables: hope - ful
Tricky part: The suffix ful has only one l. Hope also keeps its e, because ful starts with a consonant.
Watch out for: hopefull, hopful, hoapful
Memory tip: Full of hope, but spelt with one l: the suffix ful always sheds an l, as in careful and helpful.
Usage Examples
Example 1: Mira is hopeful that her drawing will be chosen for the school calendar.
Example 2: The doctor's words left the family hopeful.
Example 3: Dark clouds in June are a hopeful sign for the farmers of Vidarbha.
Fun Fact
Hopeful can also be a noun: a young hopeful is someone who wants to succeed, like the hopefuls at a cricket trial.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Makeup
Only one of these words takes the suffix to form a real word. Choose it:
-ful
a) polite
b) clever
c) cheap
d) hope
Show answer
d) hope. Hope + ful makes hopeful, but cheapful, cleverful and politeful are not English words.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
hopefull
a) f
b) l
c) p
d) e
Show answer
b) l. The suffix ful ends in a single l.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word hopeful as used in the sentence:
The farmers were hopeful that the monsoon would reach Kerala on time this year.
a) confident
b) eager
c) despairing
d) optimistic
Show answer
c) despairing. Optimistic, confident and eager are close to hopeful; despairing means having lost hope.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which sentence shows someone feeling hopeful?
a) Ravi throws away his lottery ticket.
b) Ravi says the match is already lost.
c) Ravi refuses to try for the team.
d) Ravi thinks his team can still win.
Show answer
d) Ravi thinks his team can still win.
2. A hopeful sign is one that ____.
a) suggests things will go well
b) cannot be read
c) points the wrong way
d) warns of danger
Show answer
a) suggests things will go well
