wingless

[wing-lis]

adjective

1. having no wings. wings.

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

ˈwingless

/ 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

Other Word Forms

• winglessness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of wingless¹

First recorded in 1585–95; wing + -less

Example Sentences

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

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

Read more on 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.

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

Read more on Salon

The wingless, pill-shaped insects feed on mammalian blood and, as indicated by their name, are notorious for infesting human dwellings.

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