Meaning & use
meaningless
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Having no clear message or communicative value.
Grammar: Can describe words, signs, gestures, or symbols; gradable in more/most meaningless.
Patterns
- meaningless words
- a meaningless gesture
- meaningless without context
The coded message was meaningless without the key.
A nod can be meaningless if everyone is too distracted to notice.
adjectivecomparable
Seeming to have no purpose, value, or point.
Grammar: Often describes life, work, rules, pain, or waiting; stronger than merely difficult.
Patterns
- feel meaningless
- a meaningless task
- meaningless suffering
Copying the same form three times felt meaningless.
The loss left him asking whether the routine had become meaningless.
Word forms
| comparative | more meaningless |
|---|---|
| superlative | most meaningless |
Common combinations
- meaningless words
- The contract was full of meaningless words meant to impress readers.
- feel meaningless
- Work can feel meaningless when no one explains its purpose.
- render something meaningless
- The new rule renders the old checklist meaningless.
- utterly meaningless
- To a beginner, the symbols look utterly meaningless.
Synonyms and how they differ
- senseless
- Often used for violence, waste, or absence of good reason; close to meaningless for purpose.
- pointless
- Best when an action has no useful result, less about language failing to communicate.
- nonsensical
- Implies absurd or illogical language, stronger than merely unclear.
- empty
- Suggests lacking real content, promise, or value; can be gentler than meaningless.
Opposites
Word family
- meaning noun
- What a word, sign, action, or life is understood to express.
- meaningful adjective
- Full of meaning or purpose; the direct opposite.
- mean verb
- To intend or signify; the base verb behind meaning.
Commonly confused: meaningless or meaning less?
meaningless vs meaning less
Write meaningless as one adjective for no meaning; meaning less as two words means something different, like signifying a smaller amount.
Practice
The instructions were so vague that they were practically ___.
Choose one answer.
The adjective meaningless fits after were. Meaning is a noun, meaningfully is an adverb, and the final option is ungrammatical.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “meaningless”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.