stateless

American  

[steyt-lis] / ˈsteɪt lɪs /

adjective

1. lacking nationality.

2. Finance. of, relating to, or consisting of any currency deposited in banks outside the country of original issue.

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stateless British  

/ ˈsteɪtlɪs /

adjective

1. without nationality

   stateless persons

2. without a state or states

3. without ceremonial dignity

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Other Word Forms

• statelessness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of stateless

First recorded in 1600–10; state + -less

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

stateless

Not long ago, Malaysia's then-prime minister urged his country to protect Rohingya Muslims - a stateless minority that has fled violence and discrimination in Myanmar for decades.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

The stateless person and the heirless book belong to the same historical breach, though their losses remain incommensurable.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

"Overnight, U.S. forces carried out a maritime interdiction and right-of-visit boarding of the sanctioned stateless vessel M/T Majestic X transporting oil from Iran, in the Indian Ocean," it said on X.

From Barron's ● Apr. 23, 2026

And so he is essentially stateless, surviving on savings he accumulated as a truck driver in California.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 21, 2026

Homeless, stateless, in yet another camp, we could have felt defeated, but Wetzlar was very different from the camps during the war.

From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson