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senseless

[sens-lis]
See more synonyms for senseless on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. destitute or deprived of sensation; unconscious.
  2. lacking mental perception, appreciation, or comprehension.
  3. stupid or foolish, as persons or actions.
  4. nonsensical or meaningless, as words: This letter is either cryptic or senseless.
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Origin of senseless

First recorded in 1550–60; sense + -less
Related formssense·less·ly, adverbsense·less·ness, noun

Synonyms

See more synonyms for senseless on Thesaurus.com
1. insensate, insensible. 2. unperceiving, undiscerning. 3. silly, idiotic, inane, witless, asinine.

Antonyms

2. sensitive. 3. intelligent.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for senselessly

Historical Examples

  • Drawing one, he senselessly fired, but the men were too far off to be injured.

    In the Wilds of Africa

    W.H.G. Kingston

  • Senselessly, it stood watching Elza with a dull, vacant curiosity.

    Tarrano the Conqueror

    Raymond King Cummings

  • I said, 'Have you no respect for me or yourself to act so senselessly?'

    A California Girl

    Edward Eldridge

  • Some helpless thing in him wanted her and she was killing it cruelly and senselessly.

    Narcissus

    Evelyn Scott

  • He hired extravagantly and fired ruthlessly—to the minds of some, senselessly.

    Triplanetary

    Edward Elmer Smith

British Dictionary definitions for senselessly

senseless

adjective
  1. lacking in sense; foolisha senseless plan
  2. lacking in feeling; unconscious
  3. lacking in perception; stupid
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Derived Formssenselessly, adverbsenselessness, noun
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

Word Origin and History for senselessly

senseless

adj.

1550s, "without sensation," from sense (n.) + -less. Of actions, etc., "devoid of purpose, proceeding from lack of intelligence," it is attested from 1570s. Related: Senselessly; senselessness.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper