affectless

adjective

af·​fect·​less ˈa-ˌfekt-ləs How to pronounce affectless (audio)
a-ˈfekt-
: showing or expressing no emotion
also : unfeeling
a ruthless affectless society
affectlessness noun

Examples of affectless in a Sentence

an affectless analysis of the cost of the war purely in pecuniary terms the accused remained affectless throughout the long trial
Recent Examples on the Web Actually, Stone’s voiceover isn’t affectless. Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Sep. 2022 And the key to the mystery — not the solution to it but the dark center of it — is Swinton Byrne’s quiet, reserved, at times almost affectless performance. New York Times, 7 Dec. 2021 Skarsgård does well with the character’s daytime ambiguity (tight-faced, affectless) and nighttime plotting (observant, physically lithe). Vulture, 27 Apr. 2022 The clip is entirely affectless—an authentic moment of pure lyricism. John Seabrook, The New Yorker, 5 Dec. 2022 The use of an A.I. program to replicate Warhol’s flat, affectless speech to read the diary entries had a strangely fitting logic. Steve Dollar, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2022 His paintings borrowed aspects of photographic vision (arbitrary cropping, dissonant overlap) and even photographic sensibility (cool, affectless, mechanical). Washington Post, 20 Jan. 2021 Mumblecore veteran Sheil, with her Raphaelite curtain of hair and almost affectless voice, can be an opaque heroine, and the plot, as far as there is one, feels halting at first, the dialogue choppy and unreal. Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, 30 July 2020 Johnny Flynn’s affectless monotone was crisp, clear, and cheery. Adrienne So, Wired, 1 Apr. 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'affectless.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

affect entry 3 + -less

First Known Use

1904, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of affectless was in 1904

Dictionary Entries Near affectless

Cite this Entry

“Affectless.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/affectless. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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