nameless
Americanadjective
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having no name.
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left unnamed.
a certain person who shall be nameless.
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anonymous.
a nameless source of information.
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incapable of being specified or described.
a nameless charm.
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too shocking or vile to be specified.
a nameless crime.
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having no legitimate paternal name, as a child born out of wedlock.
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unknown to fame; obscure.
a nameless poet; nameless defenders of the country.
adjective
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without a name; anonymous
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incapable of being named; indescribable
a nameless horror seized him
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too unpleasant or disturbing to be mentioned
nameless atrocities
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having no legal name; illegitimate
a nameless child
Usage
What does nameless mean? Nameless means having no name, as in Emily Dickensen’s poems are all nameless, so we refer to them by their first lines instead.Nameless also means anonymous, as in Journalists sometimes use nameless sources of information in order to get the details they need for their stories.You might use nameless to describe something incapable of being described, such as a nameless charm.Example: A nameless writer created one of the world’s most well-known proverbs.
Other Word Forms
- namelessly adverb
- namelessness noun
- quasi-nameless adjective
Etymology
Origin of nameless
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.
It is these nameless men and women who help us better understand this chapter of India's history.
From BBC
Her book tells a story that transcends generations and borders, sending a quiet but warm message to countless nameless readers around the world.
From BBC
Rilke described these memories as those having “turned to blood within us, to glance and gesture, nameless and no longer to be distinguished from ourselves.”
When officers cover their faces and demand to be nameless and faceless, “They are terrorizing ... with something just as simple as a mask,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times
Sometimes, it’s easier just to keep anguish as a nameless, formless thing, as Victor does in the first half of the film’s tagline: “Something bad happened to Agnes.”
From Salon
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.