meaningless
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- meaninglessly adverb
- meaninglessness noun
Etymology
Origin of meaningless
Explanation
If something's meaningless, it has no real value, purpose, or significance. If someone repeatedly hurts your feelings and casually says they're sorry, you might feel like the apology is meaningless. Words in a book will be meaningless to you if they're written in a language you don't understand, and the small talk you engage in when you run into an acquaintance at the supermarket is often meaningless too. You can probably think of rules that don't have any good reason behind them, and these are also meaningless. When something is important to you, it has meaning — and when it's not, it's meaningless.
Vocabulary lists containing meaningless
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.
But women actually being treated as equals requires more of society than just meaningless platitudes.
From Salon • Apr. 13, 2026
My fellow Americans, certain words have been rendered meaningless in describing the current state of affairs.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026
It is, in other words, completely meaningless in the grand scheme of things.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 3, 2026
Then came the Americans, who often acted as if they would have been content to slog through meaningless scrimmages in half-empty spring-training stadiums.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 18, 2026
Little things, meaningless and stupid in themselves, but they were there for me to see, for me to hear, for me to feel.
From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
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.
