hail mary
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A risky last-ditch effort with great benefit but little chance of success.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
haylmehreeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈheɪlˈmɛɹi
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
figurativeusually attributiveus
A risky last-ditch effort with great benefit but little chance of success; one whose success would require divine intervention; a Hail Mary pass.
christianity
A prayer, of established or conventional wording, calling for the intercession of the Virgin Mary.
verb
often reflexive
To pray by saying a Hail Mary.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A risky last-ditch effort with great benefit but little chance of success; one whose success would require divine intervention; a Hail Mary pass.
Used this way, hail mary is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly warm, approving pull. It carries more force than its gentler alternatives. It turns up most in personal or emotional discussion and literature or storytelling contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Strong
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Warm and admiring
- Usage feel
- Everyday but emotionally strong
Where it naturally appears
- Personal/emotional discussion
- Literature/storytelling
Usage note
Hail mary is emotionally heavy: it suggests deep or lasting feeling, not a passing mood, so it can overstate a small reaction.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.