Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

headless

American  
[hed-lis] / ˈhɛd lɪs /

adjective

  1. without a head.

  2. having the head cut off; beheaded.

  3. having no leader or chief; leaderless.

  4. foolish; stupid.

    a headless argument.


headless British  
/ ˈhɛdlɪs /

adjective

  1. without a head

  2. without a leader

  3. foolish or stupid

  4. prosody another word for catalectic

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of headless

before 1000; Middle English he ( ve ) dles, Old English hēafodlēas. See head, -less

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.

Today the park’s entrance is graced with Oogie Boogie, the villain from “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” and its center features a Headless Horseman statue.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 18, 2023

In “Adventures in Moviegoing” with Aster, the director chooses films that have shaped his life, from Kenji Mizoguchi’s “Sansho the Bailiff” to Lucrecia Martel’s “The Headless Horseman.”

From Seattle Times • Oct. 14, 2022

Headless, four-legged and made of metal, these 100-pound “ground drones” would be tasked with looking for migrants within the roughly 41,500 square miles that compose the U.S.

From Washington Post • Feb. 22, 2022

The Headless Horseman Hayrides in Ulster Park, N.Y., have been replaced with a drive-through haunt called “Dare to Ride the Horseman’s Trail.”

From New York Times • Oct. 22, 2020

Nearly Headless Nick stopped in his tracks and Harry walked right through him.

From "Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets" by J. K. Rowling

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Look it up. Learn it forever.

Remember "headless" for good with VocabTrainer. Expand your vocabulary effortlessly with personalized learning tools that adapt to your goals.

Take me to Vocabulary.com