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In real life, I'd say that your commitment-phobe/narcissist/bad boy boyfriend is a lost cause, but romance is shelved in fiction for a reason.
Sarah MacLean

Meaning of "lost cause" in the English dictionary

Dictionary
DICTIONARY
section

PRONUNCIATION OF LOST CAUSE

lost cause play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF LOST CAUSE

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Lost cause is a noun.
A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

WHAT DOES LOST CAUSE MEAN IN ENGLISH?

lost cause

Lost Cause of the Confederacy

The Lost Cause is a regional American literary movement seeking to reconcile the traditionalist white society of the antebellum South that they admire, to the defeat of the Confederate States of America in the American Civil War of 1861–1865. It forms an important minority viewpoint among the ways to commemorate the war. Those who contributed to the movement tended to portray the Confederacy's cause as noble and most of its leaders as exemplars of old-fashioned chivalry, defeated by the Union armies through numerical and industrial force that overwhelmed the South's superior military skill and courage. Proponents of the Lost Cause movement also condemned the Reconstruction that followed the Civil War, claiming that it had been a deliberate attempt by Northern politicians and speculators to destroy the traditional Southern way of life. In recent decades Lost Cause themes have been widely promoted by the Neo-Confederate movement in books and op-eds and especially in its magazine Southern Partisan.

Definition of lost cause in the English dictionary

The definition of lost cause in the dictionary is a cause with no chance of success.

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE LOST CAUSE

loss
loss adjuster
loss leader
loss ratio
losses
lossless
lossmaker
lossmaking
lossy
lost
lost and found
Lost Generation
lost property
lost property office
lost soul
lost tribes
lost-and-found
lost-and-found column
lost-and-found department
lostness

WORDS THAT END LIKE LOST CAUSE

andropause
applause
arbitration clause
because
cause
clause
concause
efficient cause
escalation clause
final cause
first cause
just cause
menopause
opt-out clause
pause
probable cause
root cause
secondary cause
sub-clause
subcause

Synonyms and antonyms of lost cause in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

Translation of «lost cause» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF LOST CAUSE

Find out the translation of lost cause to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of lost cause from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «lost cause» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

丢失的原因
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

causa perdida
570 millions of speakers

English

lost cause
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

खो कारण
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

قضية خاسرة
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

проигранное дело
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

causa perdida
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

হারানো কারণ
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

cause perdue
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Kehilangan sebab
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

verlorene Sache
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

失われた原因
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

손실 원인
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Ilang sabab
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

mất nguyên nhân
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

இழந்த காரணம்
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

गमावलेला कारण
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

kayıp nedeni
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

causa persa
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

przegrana
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

програне справу
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

cauză pierdută
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

χαμένη υπόθεση
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

verlore saak
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

förlorad orsak
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

tapt sak
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of lost cause

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «LOST CAUSE»

The term «lost cause» is regularly used and occupies the 71.022 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Regularly used
67
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «lost cause» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of lost cause
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «lost cause».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «LOST CAUSE» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «lost cause» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «lost cause» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about lost cause

EXAMPLES

4 QUOTES WITH «LOST CAUSE»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word lost cause.
1
Joe Flanigan
I was living in New York City and flat broke. My next door neighbor was an actor and he always seemed to be having more fun than I was. He convinced me to give acting a shot, but because of my shyness I was sure it would be a lost cause.
2
Sarah MacLean
In real life, I'd say that your commitment-phobe/narcissist/bad boy boyfriend is a lost cause, but romance is shelved in fiction for a reason.
3
Liz Murray
I feel like my life has been a series of miracles. I was in every sense a lost cause.
4
Marguerite Young
I would say my theme has always been paradise lost, always the lost cause, the lost leader, the lost utopia.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «LOST CAUSE»

Discover the use of lost cause in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to lost cause and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
The Myth of the Lost Cause and Civil War History
Alan T. Nolan is author of Lee Considered and The Iron Brigade and is editor of Giants in Their Tall Black Hats, the latter two books published by Indiana University Press.
Gary W. Gallagher, Alan T. Nolan, 2000
2
Baptized in Blood: The Religion of the Lost Cause, 1865-1920
As Charles Reagan Wilson writes in his new preface, "The Lost Cause version of the regional civil religion was a powerful expression, and recent scholarship affirms its continuing power in the minds of many white southerners."
Charles Reagan Wilson, 2011
3
Cavalryman of the Lost Cause: A Biography of J. E. B. Stuart
A balanced portrait of the controversial Confederate cavalryman describes his military contributions, contentious relationships with his staff and subordinates, and battlefield death at the age of thirty-one. Reprint.
Jeffry D. Wert, 2009
4
Lost Cause
At the request of his late grandfather, Steve finds himself retracing his grandfather's steps through Spain and understanding the power of history.
John Wilson, 2012
5
Demon of the Lost Cause: Sherman and Civil War History
Uses contemporary newspaper accounts, letters, memoirs, biographies, and histories of the Civil War to examine the past and present myths surrounding the controversial Union general, William Tecumseh Sherman.
Wesley Moody, 2011
6
The Lost Cause: The Trials of Frank and Jesse James
The True Story Behind the Legendary Outlaw Gang, a Civil War Vendetta, and the Forgotten Court Documents That Helped Seal Their Fate On a dreary December 7, 1869, two strangers entered the Daviess County Savings and Loan in Gallatin, ...
James P. Muehlberger, 2013
7
The Lost Cause: The Confederate Exodus to Mexico
In this fully documented account, Andrew F. Rolle reveals the hope, humor, disappointment, and defeat of Americans who believed that the only way to save their way of life was to leave their homeland.
Andrew F. Rolle, 1965
8
A Lost Cause: Bill Clinton's Campaign for National Health ...
An analysis of the failure of Bill and Hillary Clinton's health care reform initiative.
Nicholas Laham, 1996
9
Enduring Legacy: Rhetoric and Ritual of the Lost Cause
In Enduring Legacy, W. Stuart Towns explores the crucial role of rhetoric and oratory in creating and propagating a “Lost Cause” public memory of the American South.
W. Stuart Towns, 2012
10
Monuments to the Lost Cause: Women, Art, and the Landscapes ...
This richly illustrated collection of fourteen essays examines the ways in which Confederate memorials - from Monument Avenue to Stone Mountain - and the public rituals surrounding them testify to the tenets of the Lost Cause, a ...
Cynthia Mills, Pamela Hemenway Simpson, 2003

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «LOST CAUSE»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term lost cause is used in the context of the following news items.
1
Answering Mail on Confederate Flag and the 'Lost Cause'
From time to time I receive very angry email—skin blistering missives that can approach performance art levels. And while they are written with ... «The Journal News | LoHud.com, Jul 15»
2
Cowboys' Morris Claiborne: Breakout or Lost Cause?
... picked sixth overall in the 2012 NFL Draft. But is the Cowboys' biggest recent bust-to-date a lost cause, or on the cusp of breaking out? «SportDFW, Jul 15»
3
Is a college degree a lost cause these days? - Detroit Free Press
It's among a shrinking list of things on which people across the political spectrum agree: A liberal arts degree no longer cuts it in today's global ... «Detroit Free Press, Jul 15»
4
England fight looks to be for a lost cause (From Herald Scotland)
England's Ben Stokes out bowled by Australia's Mitchell Marsh for 87 during day three of the Second Investec Ashes Test at Lord's, London. PRESS ... «Herald Scotland, Jul 15»
5
Pate: 'Lost Cause' myth held S.C. back for generations
Shortly after the Civil War, the myth of “The Lost Cause” was promoted in conversation, codified in S.C. history books and used for more than ... «The State, Jul 15»
6
Dignity of a Lost Cause
Many people disagree with the latter, or at least they have, as mountains of the so called “Lost Cause” literature exists, which tries to make ... «Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Jul 15»
7
The Lost Cause, Jewishly
In this season of Tisha b'Av, remembering our Temple and kingdom destroyed for our sins, the humbled Jewish heart contemplates the ... «The Jewish Week, Jul 15»
8
Lies I learned as a Southerner: Racism, the Confederate flag and …
This became in immense problem in the Southern armies. Not being consonant with the image of the “Lost Cause,” it was rarely mentioned in ... «Salon, Jul 15»
9
Liverpool FC pre-season tour: Markovic no lost cause, Teixeira …
Recent history suggests it would be wrong to get too excited about players hitting the back of the net in pre-season friendlies. After all Iago ... «Liverpool Echo, Jul 15»
10
'Lost Cause' Flag Is Gone With the Wind
Confederate spin-doctors after the Civil War invented the “Lost Cause,” a revisionist interpretation of history that advanced the idea that the war ... «The Journal News | LoHud.com, Jul 15»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Lost cause [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/lost-cause>. Apr 2024 ».
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