effortless
Americanadjective
adjective
-
requiring or involving little effort; easy
-
archaic making little effort; passive
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of effortless
Explanation
Something effortless is easy to do — or at least appears that way. Great basketball players make scoring three-point shots look effortless. If you always know just what to wear, you have an effortless sense of style. Effort is the work it takes to do something. Moving a couch and staying on a diet both require effort. If something is effortless, it takes no work at all to do. For example, lifting a feather is effortless. Writing may be effortless for some people, but difficult for others. Also, some things just look effortless. A great musician might make playing guitar sound effortless, but years of practice probably went into it. Experts make difficult things seem effortless.
Vocabulary lists containing effortless
Power Suffix: -less
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Stay Strong: Forc and Fort
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Unit 1: Telling Details
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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.
"His huge achievement was to make serious painting look effortless," art historian Richard Morris said on X.
From Barron's • Jun. 12, 2026
“The open design creates an effortless flow for both daily living and entertaining,” the listing noted.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 11, 2026
CyberGhost’s global servers make streaming and browsing effortless, even for novice users.
From Salon • Jun. 10, 2026
She had enormous charisma, effortless elegance and looked enough like actress Teri Garr to be approached on the street.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026
Near the window, hidden by the dark, he felt the irritability of the day drain from him and relished the effortless beauty of the women singing in the candlelight.
From "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison
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.
