1
as in unconscious
having lost consciousness she collapsed, senseless, after hitting her head

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2
3
as in stupid
not having or showing an ability to absorb ideas readily he may be a little absentminded, but he's really not as senseless as he seems

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4
5
as in inanimate
lacking animate awareness or sensation even the senseless sea seemed determined to swamp the storm-tossed ship

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of senseless The lie here is senseless, not made as a last ditch effort to keep his relationship with Ellie intact. Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 19 May 2025 The victims and their families affected by this senseless act will forever be in our thoughts and prayers. Gabrielle Rockson, People.com, 16 May 2025 Natalie Portman gives a wickedly unhinged performance as an aging pop star trying to navigate her faltering career while also raising her teenage daughter in a world increasingly marked by senseless violence. Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2025 In the painting Meaningless, 2003, for example, the words meaningless, senseless, and irrelevant eventually give way to blather, blabber, babble, then to drivel and drool, and, finally, to blah-blah-blah. Jeffrey Weiss, Artforum, 1 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for senseless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for senseless
Adjective
  • However, once again, Indiana found some magic behind Aaron Nesmith's 20-point fourth quarter and unconscious three-point shooting and came back to force overtime on a Haliburton step-back jumper that bounced high off of the rim and fell down through.
    Evan Massey, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 May 2025
  • When teens begin dying in their dreams—each claimed by a disfigured man with a glove of knives—the boundary between waking life and unconscious terror erodes.
    Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 21 May 2025
Adjective
  • The trouble is that in and of themselves, trade deficits (or surpluses) are meaningless measures of a nation’s economic health.
    Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 27 May 2025
  • Ever since Top Gun: Maverick, Cruise’s films have imposed a sense of duty on audiences — a different purpose than other meaningless, direct-to-streaming content with zero purpose.
    Armond White, National Review, 23 May 2025
Adjective
  • Camp, stupid, joyful—to both own and access—Labubu has taken over.
    Lara Johnson-Wheeler, Vogue, 31 May 2025
  • This is just stupid how successful this is, but that’s really underselling it.
    Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 31 May 2025
Adjective
  • To write off the Israeli leader would be foolish, especially with new elections not required until late 2026.
    Yair Rosenberg, The Atlantic, 22 May 2025
  • His writing is so human—his people are foolish in such human ways.
    The New Yorker, New Yorker, 21 May 2025
Adjective
  • Even an inanimate sculpture representing a Black woman gets hit with stereotypical projections.
    Taryn Finley, Refinery29, 14 May 2025
  • That adds individuality to sections of inanimate space.
    Nielsen Dinwoodie, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Ratajkowski has been fighting the stereotype of the dumb model from the beginning of her career.
    Daniel Jackson, Allure, 18 July 2017
  • Ninety nine percent of all NFL players are explicitly not dumb.
    Andy Benoit, The MMQB, 10 July 2017
Adjective
  • If a couple players on the Dodgers can make a silly comment, so can the owner of the Yankees.
    Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2025
  • The artwork is silly and exaggerated to capture youngsters’ attention.
    BestReviews, Mercury News, 28 May 2025
Adjective
  • The brain, like other internal organs, is insensate, its lack of sensory receptors attested by videos of virtuoso violinists who play on unfazed as neurosurgeons go to work inside their skulls.
    Matthew Ponsford, WIRED, 19 Sep. 2024
  • But states have used midazolam alone — and at much higher doses — in executions since 2013, claiming the drug will render people insensate to pain before the administration of other lethal injection drugs.
    Lauren Gill, ProPublica, 29 Apr. 2023

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Cite this Entry

“Senseless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/senseless. Accessed 5 Jun. 2025.

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