bloodless

adjective

blood·​less ˈbləd-ləs 

1

: deficient in or free from blood

2

: not accompanied by loss or shedding of blood

a bloodless victory

3

: lacking in spirit or vitality

4

: lacking in human feeling

bloodless statistics

bloodlessly adverb

bloodlessness noun

Examples of bloodless in a Sentence

They took control of the government in a bloodless coup.

Her speeches are dull and bloodless.

a bunch of bloodless numbers and statistics

His face was bloodless with fear.

Recent Examples on the Web

The skin of the limp body — draped all the way across the canvas — is what speaks loudest: The bloodless flesh of a corpse going bluish gray says dead. —Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2024

Israel could also revert to the ways of its yearslong shadow war with Iran, orchestrating some kind of bloodless cyberattack or relying on spy craft and covert actions against Iranian interests, inside or outside Iran, without claiming responsibility for them. —Michael Levenson, New York Times, 15 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

bloodless

adjective

blood·​less ˈbləd-ləs 

1

: having less blood than normal

2

: done without bloodshed

a bloodless revolution

3

: lacking in spirit or feeling

bloodlessly adverb

bloodlessness noun

Medical Definition

bloodless

adjective

blood·​less ˈbləd-ləs 

: free from or lacking blood

a bloodless surgical field

bloodlessly adverb