Defenseless

How to spell defenseless

11 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce defenseless

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does defenseless mean?

1. adjectiveHaving no means of protection or resistance; completely vulnerable.

Defenseless in a sentence

• The stranded hikers felt utterly defenseless against the sudden storm.

• Without insurance, the small business was defenseless when the lawsuit arrived.

Where does defenseless come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word traces back to the Latin verb defendere, meaning 'to ward off' or 'to protect', built from de- 'away' and an old root fendere 'to strike or hit'. The same fendere root sits inside 'offend' and 'fence', so a defence was originally something that struck back at an attacker. The noun form came into English through Old French defens during the medieval period, and English later attached the native suffix -less, meaning 'without', to describe someone or something with no protection at all. The spelling split that trips writers up is purely dialectal: American English settled on 'defense' with an s, mirroring the Latin verb, while British and Canadian writing kept 'defence' with a c, following the Old French route. Because the s in 'defenseless' is doubled in sound by the -less ending, the trap is hearing two s sounds and wondering where the c went.

How the word is built

• defens- (from Latin defendere: to ward off)
• -less (without, lacking)

British and American spelling

Defenseless is the American spelling. British English spells it defenceless.