acephalous

[ ey-sef-uh-luhs ]

/ eɪˈsɛf ə ləs /

Save This Word!

adjective

Also a·ce·phal·ic

[ey-suh-fal-ik]. /ˌeɪ səˈfæl ɪk/. Zoology. headless; lacking a distinct head.

without a leader or ruler.

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Question 1 of 8

Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Origin of acephalous

1725–35; <Greek aképhalos;see a-⁶, -cephalous

Words nearby acephalous

acephalocyst, acephalogasteria, acephalorrhachia, acephalostomia, acephalothoracia, acephalous, acephaly, acephate, ace point, acequia, acer

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use acephalous in a sentence

Based in Southeast Nigeria, this industrious and acephalous group has attracted a lot of attention from research in recent years.
What Silicon Valley could learn from Nigeria’s Igbo entrepreneurs|Nnamdi Madichie|April 29, 2021|Quartz
Its cercari are usually found in an acephalous mollusc, known by the name of Cyclas cornea.
Animal Parasites and Messmates|P. J. Van Beneden
He found it more 'acephalous' than ever; 'less order; less unity of purpose.'
The Life of William Ewart Gladstone, Vol. 1 (of 3)|John Morley
Such is a summary description of all the Acephalous Molluscs.
The Ocean World:|Louis Figuier

I cannot imagine anything more manifestly made to be a tyranny than such an acephalous aristocracy.
What I Saw in America|G. K. Chesterton
Almost all bivalve shells, or those of acephalous mollusca, are marine, about ten only out of ninety genera being freshwater.
A Manual of Elementary Geology|Charles Lyell.

British Dictionary definitions for acephalous

acephalous

/ (əˈsɛfələs) /

adjective

having no head or one that is reduced and indistinct, as certain insect larvae

having or recognizing no ruler or leader

Word Origin for acephalous

C18: via Medieval Latin from Greek akephalos. See a- 1, -cephalic

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