brainless

adjective

brain·​less ˈbrān-ləs How to pronounce brainless (audio)
1
: devoid of intelligence : stupid
a brainless decision
2
: not demanding understanding or intelligence : dull, stupefying
a brainless task
brainless repetition
3
: lacking a brain
brainless organisms
brainlessly adverb
brainlessness noun

Examples of brainless in a Sentence

He thought most of his coworkers were brainless. The plot of the new movie is brainless and the acting is terrible.
Recent Examples on the Web An oyster, immobile and nearly brainless, is hardly even an animal, despite what the taxonomists tell us. Peter Rubin, Longreads, 9 Jan. 2024 But the most impressive is first-time writer-director Molly Manning Walker getting us not just to forgive her central triad their brash and brainless bravado but to grieve for it when it’s gone. Jessica Kiang, Los Angeles Times, 2 Feb. 2024 And in the ultimate exemplification of how an endless stream of content begets pernicious bunkum, John McPhail’s Dear David is arguably the most brainless release of the year. Nicholas Bell, SPIN, 5 Dec. 2023 Except these mussels are eyeless, brainless, little brown creatures that few people have ever heard of. Robert Kunzig, Scientific American, 17 Oct. 2023 Mostly born of concern about children, this panic quickly toggled toward adults as well, such that the looming specter of a zombified spectator, passively assailed by toxic, brainless, morally compromised TV images became a figure of great cultural worry. Phillip MacIak, The New Republic, 24 Aug. 2023 It's long been known that any creature with a central nervous system needs to sleep, but jellyfish are effectively brainless. Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 21 Sep. 2017 The cleaners might not have lungs, and the physiotherapist could be completely brainless. Rebecca Cairns; Video By Dan Tham, CNN, 25 Aug. 2021 Be Our Chef is a charmingly peppy, brainless half-hour. Robyn Bahr, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Mar. 2020

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

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of brainless was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near brainless

Cite this Entry

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

Kids Definition

brainless

adjective
brain·​less ˈbrān-ləs How to pronounce brainless (audio)
: lacking intelligence
brainlessly adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on brainless

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