nameless

[ neym-lis ]
See synonyms for nameless on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. having no name.

  2. left unnamed: a certain person who shall be nameless.

  1. anonymous: a nameless source of information.

  2. incapable of being specified or described: a nameless charm.

  3. too shocking or vile to be specified: a nameless crime.

  4. having no legitimate paternal name, as a child born out of wedlock.

  5. unknown to fame; obscure: a nameless poet; nameless defenders of the country.

Origin of nameless

1
Middle English word dating back to 1275–1325; see origin at name, -less

Other words from nameless

  • name·less·ly, adverb
  • name·less·ness, noun
  • quasi-nameless, adjective

Words Nearby nameless

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use nameless in a sentence

  • Her eyes, for a moment, fixed themselves with a horrid conviction of a wide and nameless treachery.

  • If he has higher views for his son than a marriage with a nameless girl like me, his son should be the last to find fault.

    The World Before Them | Susanna Moodie
  • A moment later there was Something nearly at his left elbow, and he smelt again the nameless, fœtid reek.

    Uncanny Tales | Various
  • The loping pursuit of that nameless, shapeless Something sounded like an echo in his head.

    Uncanny Tales | Various
  • An M.P., who shall be nameless, supplies me with an apt illustration of East Anglian dialect.

    East Anglia | J. Ewing Ritchie

British Dictionary definitions for nameless

nameless

/ (ˈneɪmlɪs) /


adjective
  1. without a name; anonymous

  2. incapable of being named; indescribable: a nameless horror seized him

  1. too unpleasant or disturbing to be mentioned: nameless atrocities

  2. having no legal name; illegitimate: a nameless child

Derived forms of nameless

  • namelessly, adverb
  • namelessness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012