stateless

[ steyt-lis ]

/ ˈsteɪt lɪs /

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adjective

lacking nationality.

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

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Origin of stateless

First recorded in 1600–10; state + -less

OTHER WORDS FROM stateless

state·less·ness, noun

Words nearby stateless

state function, statehood, statehooder, statehouse, state law, stateless, statelet, stately, stately home, state medicine, statement

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use stateless in a sentence

I’ve watched as political solutions to conflicts have dried up for an ever growing population of forcibly displaced people and their children—born displaced or stateless, passing their entire childhoods in limbo.
Angelina Jolie: We Need to Understand the Human Cost of Burkina Faso’s Refugee Crisis|Angelina Jolie|July 8, 2021|Time
They may carry the citizenship of their parents, or they may be born in a facility operated by a corporation and end up stateless.
When Will the First Baby Be Born in Space?|Chris Impey|June 4, 2021|Singularity Hub
While the R&D tax credit, which was introduced in 1981, has been effective in encouraging companies to invest in R&D, most of that credit goes to large companies, many of which also have large amounts of stateless income sheltered around the world.
Will there be enough good jobs?|Laura D’Andrea Tyson, PhD ’74|April 28, 2021|MIT Technology Review
Only the Antarctic Treaty System, an international agreement to protect the stateless continent, has any real authority.
Antarctica cruises are booming. But can the continent handle it?|Elizabeth Heath|April 15, 2021|Washington Post

In the 30 years since, however, the most fundamental threats have morphed and changed, first with the rise of stateless terrorism and now with enemies such as pandemics and climate change.
Defeating today’s top threats requires rethinking our idea of national security|Melvyn Leffler|January 26, 2021|Washington Post
She is rootless and stateless, having little in the way of rights or protection from exploitation.
The Young Girls Escaping the ISIS War|Chandra Kellison|September 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Technically, making somebody stateless is contrary to international law.
David Cameron's Plan to Fight ISIS Will Likely Involve Racial Profiling|Clive Irving|September 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Abu Rmeidah may still be stateless, but on July 30th, he could face off with his Israeli opponent on an equal playing field.
Making Olympic History||June 26, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Against our will, we were forced to try the stateless approach for 1900 years.
Nobody Expects the Spanish Inquisition|Shmarya Rosenberg|April 4, 2012|DAILY BEAST
We are a stateless people, and we must confront adversity along with many painful circumstances in Tibet itself.
Why I Laugh|Dalai Lama|October 24, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Because the goblin bee has stung our own souls, shall we seek to share the pain of its stateless sting with all we meet?
Rosemary and Rue|Amber
One is for Soviet citizens, one is for citizens of foreign countries, I believe, and another is for stateless persons.
Warren Commission (5 of 26): Hearings Vol. V (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
He may have regarded himself as being stateless, I don't know, at the time he applied for that document.
Warren Commission (5 of 26): Hearings Vol. V (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy

British Dictionary definitions for stateless

stateless

/ (ˈsteɪtlɪs) /

adjective

without nationalitystateless persons

without a state or states

mainly British without ceremonial dignity

Derived forms of stateless

statelessness, 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