structureless

American  

[struhk-cher-lis] / ˈstrʌk tʃər lɪs /

adjective

1. without structure, organization, or arrangement; formless.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• structurelessness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of structureless

First recorded in 1840–50; structure + -less

Explanation

Something that is structureless lacks a specific form, whether it's free-flowing music, a workplace with no rules or bosses, or a big glop of warm mayonnaise. In physics, something structureless cannot be broken down into smaller parts. Many physicists consider an electron (like other parts of an atom) a structureless particle: it has only one known part — itself! More often, though, we say something is structureless if it's not firm or fully solid. Some people might refer to jello as being structureless. In music, art, and poetry, structureless works do not follow a particular form or pattern. And organizations that are structureless may not have designated leaders, job descriptions, or regulations — like a classroom with no teacher or rules.

Example Sentences

In 2018, the researchers noticed that changing the rigidity and shape of a peptide improves its ability to interact with structureless protein targets such as MYC.

From Science Daily • Jan. 4, 2024

The song that follows is “Swimming,” a structureless stream of consciousness about what Jonathan sees, thinks and feels during his midnight workout.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 19, 2021

In a lockdown of structureless days unless you build the structure, one trimmed matchstick at a time, meals can become the deepest of comforts.

From The Guardian • Feb. 18, 2021

In the pandemic vernacular, we will talk of how quickly we began to lose our place in time, unmoored by the structureless surreality of it all.

From Washington Post • Sep. 21, 2020

But how can two structureless things interact so as to produce a structure? my critic triumphantly asks.

From Essays in Radical Empiricism by James, William