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

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

From Los Angeles Times

The Kurds are stateless, and spread mainly across four countries - Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey.

From BBC

The rights and opportunities that supposedly flow from our citizenship status thus become as unstable and arbitrary as those of stateless persons.

From Salon

Like many others, Ahmed's relatives live in Bangladesh, but he and his family have never had the chance to see them as they remain stateless.

From Barron's

But despite that ruling, his official status continued to be listed as Nigerian, preventing him from being formally recognised as stateless under UK law.

From BBC