groundless
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- groundlessly adverb
- groundlessness noun
Etymology
Origin of groundless
before 900; Middle English: bottomless, unfathomable; Old English grundlēas. See ground 1, -less
Explanation
Something that's groundless isn't valid or justified, like your groundless fear that you failed your math quiz, even though you studied and knew all the material. Grounds are "factors forming the justification for a belief," and when you don't have any such grounds, your belief is groundless. In other words, anything groundless has no reason or cause to back it up. A groundless claim is one that has no proof, and a groundless suspicion is empty: "We questioned that nice lady next door and made her cry, thanks to your groundless accusation that she stole our cat."
Vocabulary lists containing groundless
"Oedipus the King" by Sophocles
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Awkward
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Because They Marched
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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.
China accused Britain's Keir Starmer of making "groundless accusations" on Tuesday, a day after the prime minister said he would engage with Beijing but warned China posed a national security threat.
From Barron's • Dec. 2, 2025
“The impact on the bookings has been quite hard,” said Patel, who called the lawsuit groundless.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 20, 2025
Lot of reasons for that, it’s not groundless optimism.
From Salon • Aug. 5, 2025
But China's Commerce Ministry rebuffed this as "groundless with no factual basis".
From BBC • Apr. 30, 2025
Since he was gainfully employed by SNCC, had no outstanding debts and had plenty of cash in his wallet when arrested, the charge was groundless and, after a trial, had to be dropped.
From "Because They Marched" by Russell Freedman
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.
