clueless

adjective

clue·​less ˈklü-ləs 

1

: having or providing no clue

a clueless case for the police to solve

2

: completely or hopelessly bewildered, unaware, ignorant, or foolish

clueless about what they want

cluelessly adverb

I played dumb. I have arrived at a point in my life where I can perform this stunt with aplomb. "What do you mean?" I asked, as cluelessly as I knew how.

—Steve Friedman

cluelessness noun

Mowrey is also trying to make a deer hunter of Bentley, whose cluelessness as an outdoors-man is a rich source of amusement to his country-boy crony.

—Austin Murphy

Synonyms of clueless

• ignorant
• unaware
• oblivious

Examples of clueless in a Sentence

When it comes to computers, I'm clueless.

They were clueless about what to do.

Recent Examples on the Web

There’s a car chase through the countryside that’s all straining steel and revving engines and a sequence in a London nightclub — every action movie apparently needs one — that shows off close-quarter murder beautifully choreographed as clueless dancers sway. —Mark Kennedy, Boston Herald, 29 Jan. 2026

Huw comes across as weak, desperate and clueless. —Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026

On the other side of a chain link fence, a women’s pickleball foursome click-clacked through a couple of sets, seemingly clueless about the identity of the two young men readying themselves for the start of the 2026 season. —Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 26 Jan. 2026

This means not undershooting to the point of looking clueless and not overshooting to the point of looking overbearing. —Gorick Ng, CNBC, 26 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1743, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for clueless

• shoeless
• viewless

Kids Definition

clueless

adjective

clue·​less ˈklü-ləs 

: having or providing no clue