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Synonyms

rootless

American  
[root-lis, root-] / ˈrut lɪs, ˈrʊt- /

adjective

  1. having no roots.

  2. having no basis of stability; unsteady.

    a rootless feeling resulting from economic and social change.

  3. having no place or position in society.

    a rootless wanderer.
rootless British  
/ ˈruːtlɪs /

adjective

  1. having no roots, esp (of a person) having no ties with a particular place or community

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • rootlessness noun

Etymology

Origin of rootless

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English roteles; root 1, + -less ( def. )

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.

Suddenly, she’s brandishing a mop and pail everywhere like a rootless knight without a quest or a horse.

From Los Angeles Times • May 23, 2025

Most famously, there was "The Future," released in 1992 at the moment of liberal democracy’s supposed global triumph, which offered an eerie forecast of a rootless new century, struggling with the loss of existential meaning:

From Salon • Jan. 21, 2025

Breached rootless cones identified in the current study show similar occurrences of polyhydrated sulfates, further suggesting the blistered volcanic blanket may be hiding a vast sheet of glacier ice underneath it.

From Science Daily • Mar. 13, 2024

Some of those leftovers are linked to the last-minute installation of rootless trees, two volunteers told The Associated Press.

From Washington Times • Oct. 24, 2023

Finn drifted around, rootless and aimless as dandelion fluff in the wind.

From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby

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.