lightless
Americanadjective
-
without light or lights; receiving no light; dark.
-
giving no light.
Other Word Forms
- lightlessness noun
Etymology
Origin of lightless
before 1000; Middle English lihtles, Old English lēohtlēas. See light 1, -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.
While you can’t help but appreciate the cherry red of the deep-sea atolla jellyfish, you will also learn why its unusual pigment persists in the lightless depths.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025
Much of the deep ocean is vacant, with extremely cold, lightless regions making it difficult for life as we know it to survive.
From Salon • May 21, 2025
Today, there are more than 300 species of anglerfish, which makes them the most varied family of vertebrates in the ocean’s lightless zone.
From New York Times • May 30, 2024
“At this point we have a lightless lighthouse until the Coast Guard can effect the repairs.”
From Seattle Times • Aug. 2, 2023
Across town, in the lightless Zebra Room, my father was trying to stay awake.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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.
