lifeless
Americanadjective
-
not endowed with life; having no life; inanimate.
lifeless matter.
- Synonyms:
- inorganic
- Antonyms:
- living
-
destitute of living things.
a lifeless planet.
-
deprived of life; dead.
a battlefield strewn with lifeless bodies.
- Synonyms:
- defunct
- Antonyms:
- living
-
without animation, liveliness, or spirit; dull; colorless; torpid.
a lifeless performance of a play.
- Synonyms:
- spiritless, sluggish, passive, inert, inactive
- Antonyms:
- lively
-
insensible, as a person who has fainted.
adjective
-
without life; inanimate; dead
-
not sustaining living organisms
-
having no vitality or animation
-
unconscious
Related Words
See dead.
Other Word Forms
- lifelessly adverb
- lifelessness noun
Etymology
Origin of lifeless
before 1000; Middle English lifles, Old English līflēas. See life, -less
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.
After O’Brien’s lifeless body is wheeled out, a name plaque with a new host is put on the door.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 17, 2026
The majority of its dozen tracks coast along with an agreeable yet lifeless electro-pop groove, with layered voices approximating the earnest and indistinct ballads of latter-day Coldplay.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 10, 2026
England had vowed that, after lifeless defeats by Scotland and Ireland in the previous two rounds, Rome would be a return to the intensity and intent that marked a successful 2025.
From BBC • Mar. 7, 2026
Early primary coverage feels so distant with its talk of endorsements, “war chests,” and other lifeless stats.
From Slate • Feb. 7, 2026
My being was full of the husks of despair, dry, lifeless.
From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya
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.
