wingless

American  

[wing-lis] / ˈwɪŋ lɪs /

adjective

1. having no wings. wings.

2. having only rudimentary wings, wings, as an apteryx.

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ˈwingless British  

/ ˈwɪŋlɪs /

adjective

1. having no wings or vestigial wings

2. designating primitive insects of the subclass Apterygota, characterized by small size, lack of wings, and larvae resembling the adults: includes the springtails and bristletails

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Other Word Forms

• winglessness noun

Etymology

Origin of wingless

First recorded in 1585–95; wing + -less

Example Sentences

Behind the apostles, in a beehive of sociable activity, wingless angels busy themselves with rituals—tending to oil lamps, burning cypress branches, playing musical instruments.

From The Wall Street Journal

Around 2018 when a raft of fashion houses joined everyone else in ditching their serif logos for wingless alternatives, something flipped.

From The Wall Street Journal

In contrast, workers are wingless females with smaller body size and degenerated reproductive tracts, usually without a sperm storage organ.

From Science Daily

Just inside, Max Streicher’s “Quadriga” stages massive billowing horses that call to mind wingless Pegasi the way they seem to gallop through the air.

From Los Angeles Times

The wingless insects usually spread through direct contact from the hair of one person to the hair of another.

From Salon