Meaningless

How to spell meaningless

11 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce meaningless

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does meaningless mean?

1. adjectiveHaving no meaning, purpose, or significance.

Meaningless in a sentence

• The report was full of meaningless jargon that explained nothing.

• Without context, the numbers on the page were completely meaningless.

Where does meaningless come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word is built entirely from native English parts. The core is 'mean', from the Old English mænan, meaning 'to intend' or 'to signify', a verb shared with Dutch and German cognates such as meinen. Adding the suffix -ing produced 'meaning', the sense or intention behind something, a usage well established by the Middle Ages. The ending -less comes from the Old English leas, meaning 'free from' or 'without', the same element that gives us 'helpless' and 'fearless'. Stacked together, the parts literally say 'without meaning', and the word in this exact compound form became common from around the 1500s onward. The spelling stays transparent because each piece keeps its own shape: 'meaning' plus 'less', with no letters dropped at the join.

How the word is built

• mean (to intend, signify)
• -ing (forming a noun)
• -less (without)