clueless
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of clueless
Explanation
Someone is clueless if they have no idea what's happening. The unsuspecting victim of a practical joke is usually clueless right up until everyone starts laughing. You could reassure your brother that your mom has no idea you're planning a surprise party by saying, "Don't worry, she's totally clueless." Or you might worry that your friend failed the big geometry test, based on the clueless expression on his face during the exam. In the 1860s, clueless meant "leaving no clues behind," but by 1943 it gained its current meaning, which became even more popular as student slang in the 1980s.
Vocabulary lists containing clueless
"Two Left Feet, Two Left Hands, and Too Left on the Bench"
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Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus
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Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
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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.
For Tunstall, what sets Clueless apart from traditional rom-coms and high school dramas is that there isn't a typical villain and there's no nastiness or bad intentions from the main characters.
From BBC • Mar. 14, 2025
I'm here for the fashion, but there's so much more to Clueless.
From BBC • Feb. 9, 2025
Besides, it’ll trigger the “h” word from Clueless Girlfriend: hoax.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 27, 2024
Clueless in Manhattan: “How very kind of that young man to squeegee-clean my car window!”
From Washington Post • Nov. 3, 2022
Aimee had been too young to see the movie Clueless when it first came out in theaters, but she had seen it several times since then, and she owned the video tape.
From "Nine, Ten: A September 11 Story" by Nora Raleigh Baskin
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.
