meaningless

adjective

mean·​ing·​less ˈmē-niŋ-ləs 

1

: having no meaning

especially : lacking any significance

felt his work was meaningless

2

: having no assigned function in a language system

meaninglessly adverb

meaninglessness noun

Synonyms of meaningless

• pointless
• absurd
• stupid
• inane
• silly
• irrational
• empty
• foolish

Examples of meaningless in a Sentence

He felt that his work was meaningless.

The movie was filled with meaningless violence.

Recent Examples on the Web

And at the same time, how meaningless a basketball game actually was in the bigger scheme of things. —Charles Bethea, New Yorker, 26 Apr. 2026

But at John Kogut's retrial in 2005, the Nassau County DA's office had argued the opposite — that the unidentified DNA taken from Theresa was meaningless. —Mary Murphy, CBS News, 26 Apr. 2026

Swayman will now have to regroup for Game 5 after two meaningless third-period goals by Beck Malenstyn and Tuch. —Fluto Shinzawa, New York Times, 26 Apr. 2026

Duchampian is one of those descriptors that’s both extremely specific and meaningless when misapplied to everything. —Nate Freeman, Vanity Fair, 24 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1796, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

meaningless

adjective

mean·​ing·​less ˈmē-niŋ-ləs 

1

: having no meaning or significance

meaningless chatter

2

: lacking motive

a meaningless murder

meaninglessly adverb

meaninglessness noun