senseless
Americanadjective
-
destitute or deprived of sensation; unconscious.
- Synonyms:
- insensible, insensate
-
lacking mental perception, appreciation, or comprehension.
- Synonyms:
- undiscerning, unperceiving
- Antonyms:
- sensitive
-
stupid or foolish, as persons or actions.
- Antonyms:
- intelligent
-
nonsensical or meaningless, as words.
This letter is either cryptic or senseless.
adjective
-
lacking in sense; foolish
a senseless plan
-
lacking in feeling; unconscious
-
lacking in perception; stupid
Other Word Forms
- senselessly adverb
- senselessness noun
Etymology
Origin of senseless
Explanation
Senseless things have no meaning — you can't easily explain why they happen. Senseless people, on the other hand, are simply unconscious. This adjective often describes something terrible or violent, like a senseless accident or the senseless destruction of a city. It can also mean "done without thinking," or "lacking understanding," so a senseless student will give the teacher a blank look when their name is called, and a hiking trip across the Rockies in the winter would be senseless too. The "unconscious" meaning is the oldest, dating from the 1550s.
Vocabulary lists containing senseless
Power Suffix: -less
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -less
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-less
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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.
After his audience with Macron, the pope met with bishops from the Chaldean Church of Baghdad, whom he called "signs of hope in a world marked by senseless and inhuman violence".
From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026
Speaking after the verdict, investigating officer Craig Nicholson described the crash as a "senseless tragedy".
From Barron's • Feb. 2, 2026
In 2020, Apple’s Cook signed a lengthy message titled “Speaking up on racism” in which he called out “the senseless killing of George Floyd” and committed to “creating a better, more just world for everyone.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 29, 2026
Whether with an old-fashioned one-case-per-episode or a more sprawling multistrand story, quaint or violent, historic or modern, the birthplace of Agatha Christie understands that we all need stories that make sense of seemingly senseless acts.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 23, 2025
It seemed senseless to run away without money.
From "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" by E.L. Konigsburg
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.
