defenseless
Americanadjective
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.
"Fragile is the flesh of defenseless populations, tried by so many wars, ongoing or concluded, leaving behind rubble and open wounds," the pope said at the mass in St Peter's Basilica.
From Barron's • Dec. 25, 2025
International law states that once enemies have been rendered defenseless, they shouldn’t be subject to further attack.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 16, 2025
"This temporary state renders the shark defenseless, allowing the orcas to extract its nutrient-rich liver and likely consume other organs as well, before abandoning the rest of the carcass," explained Higuera.
From Science Daily • Nov. 3, 2025
To deny it is to leave Americans defenseless against it.
From Salon • Sep. 16, 2025
But I decide to include it because anything that can start out floating around defenseless in the ocean that size—and then defeat the odds to grow into this powerful creature—has to mean business.
From "The Benefits of Being an Octopus" by Ann Braden
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.
