motionless
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of motionless
Explanation
If you're motionless, you're completely still, not moving a muscle. Your barber might instruct you to remain motionless while he trims the hair around your ears. Anything that's motionless doesn't move — a statue is motionless, and your bike is motionless lying in the driveway until you climb on it and start pedaling. Photographs are motionless, while video records movement. Your new puppy might be a constantly wiggling, jumping ball of motion until she becomes exhausted and falls sound asleep, motionless. Motion, or movement, comes from a Latin root, motionem, "a movement" or "an emotion."
Vocabulary lists containing motionless
Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 4
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"The Woman in the Snow" and "Rosa Parks"
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English Language Development Texts, Unit 2
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"He just sits near an air defence artillery gun, silent and motionless, as if he's also on duty," the brigade says.
From BBC • Apr. 25, 2026
German media have broadcast the hapless creature lying motionless in shallow water for hours on end, with men in diving suits splashing water on it using kayak paddles.
From Barron's • Apr. 23, 2026
When he zoomed in with his camera, he realized the motionless ants were covered with tiny cone ants.
From Science Daily • Apr. 14, 2026
In December, motionless Waymo vehicles clogged San Francisco streets after a power outage.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 2, 2026
The “black.robed, sharp-faced widow” in front of them appeared utterly motionless.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
