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definitions

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.

Origin of senseless

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

Synonyms for senseless

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1. insensate, insensible. 2. unperceiving, undiscerning. 3. silly, idiotic, inane, witless, asinine.

Antonyms for senseless

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

Related Words for senselessness

indiscretion, madness, rubbish, nonsense, tomfoolery, imbecility, absurdity, tommyrot, twaddle, craziness, irrationality, bunk, stupidity, poppycock, claptrap, weakness, insensibility, imprudence, insanity, idiocy

Examples from the Web for senselessness

Contemporary Examples of senselessness

  • Ryan had contracted AIDS from a blood transfusion and symbolized the senselessness of the disease.

    The Daily Beast logo
    First in the Fight Against AIDS

    Steven Petrow

    August 26, 2009

Historical Examples of senselessness

  • Tell them of the foulness, of the cruelty, of the senselessness of it all.

  • That you may not suffer for your own senselessness, and may not harm others by your folly.

    Foma Gordyeff

    Maxim Gorky

  • It was this senselessness of feeling that first brought the jarring of the truth to him.

  • To say nothing of the inhumanity, the senselessness of duelling revolts me.

  • For it does not admit of sobriety, nor does it induce the senselessness of pure wine.

British Dictionary definitions for senselessness

senseless

adjective
  1. lacking in sense; foolisha senseless plan
  2. lacking in feeling; unconscious
  3. lacking in perception; stupid
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 senselessness

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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper