meaningless

[mee-ning-lis]

adjective

1. without meaning, mean, meaning, significance, purpose, or value; purposeless; insignificant.

   a meaningless reply; a meaningless existence.

meaningless

/ ˈmiːnɪŋlɪs /

adjective

1. futile or empty of meaning

Other Word Forms

• meaninglessness noun
• meaninglessly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of meaningless¹

First recorded in 1790–1800; meaning + -less

Example Sentences

“The whole game is meaningless, crushing, exhausting,” said Xiang Biao, a director at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology in Germany.

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A short teaser also shows the students of South Park Elementary engaging with the viral “67” slang, an essentially meaningless phrase that has taken over Generation Alpha.

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So the ordinance is "rather meaningless or ineffective" for young people, he said.

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It was all opaque and meaningless and meant to be.

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If Mr. Safdie’s intent is to make the fights seem like meaningless barbarism, he has succeeded.

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Related Words

• absurd 
• empty 
• futile 
• hollow 
• inconsequential 
• insignificant 
• pointless 
• senseless 
• trivial 
• unimportant 
• useless 
• vague 
• worthless