lifeless

[lahyf-lis]

adjective

1. not endowed with life; having no life; inanimate.

   lifeless matter.

   Synonyms: inorganic
   Antonyms: living

2. destitute of living things.

   a lifeless planet.

3. deprived of life; dead.

   a battlefield strewn with lifeless bodies.

   Synonyms: defunct
   Antonyms: living

4. without animation, liveliness, or spirit; dull; colorless; torpid.

   a lifeless performance of a play.

   Synonyms: spiritless, sluggish, passive, inert, inactive
   Antonyms: lively

5. insensible, as a person who has fainted.

lifeless

/ ˈlaɪflɪs /

adjective

1. without life; inanimate; dead

2. not sustaining living organisms

3. having no vitality or animation

4. unconscious

Other Word Forms

• lifelessly adverb
• lifelessness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of lifeless¹

before 1000; Middle English lifles, Old English līflēas. See life, -less

Synonym Study

See dead.

Example Sentences

The blade stops in midair and rattles to the ground—lifeless once more.

Read more on Literature

Their lifeless gazes seemed to follow her everywhere she moved.

Read more on Literature

The birds look lifeless as they are manoeuvred into position.

Read more on BBC

Another woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said: "Words can't explain the situation that we're in. It's horrible. I don't even know what to say. So many hopeless, helpless and lifeless people here right now."

Read more on BBC

This gradual shift ultimately transformed Earth from a lifeless planet into one capable of sustaining complex ecosystems -- a profound step in the planet's long journey toward habitability.

Read more on Science Daily

Related Words

• drab 
• lackluster 
• lethargic 
• listless 
• passive 
• sluggish 
• static 
• stiff