1
2
: not known by name : anonymous
3
: having no legal right to a name (as due to being born to parents not married to each other)
4
: not having been given a name : unnamed
5
: not marked with a name
a nameless grave
6
a
: incapable of precise description : indefinable
b
: too repulsive or distressing to describe
namelessly
adverb
namelessness
noun
Examples of nameless in a Sentence
She left the hotel with a nameless man in a black jacket.
The source for my story prefers to remain nameless.
A top government official, who shall remain nameless, has expressed concern about the decision.
The men were buried there in nameless graves.
Recent Examples on the Web
The real threat to Americans is our headlong rush toward normalizing blatant murder, whether that be of nameless occupants of motorboats in the Caribbean, schoolgirls in Iran or United States citizens in the streets of Minneapolis.
—
Chicago Tribune, 10 Mar. 2026
It isn’t hidden in an alley or obscured via a nameless door.
—Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 4 Mar. 2026
As the play’s nameless protagonist, Radcliffe has the difficult task of being both its emotional engine and its conductor, leading the laypeople through their cues.
—Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 4 Mar. 2026
This includes a comic scene about proofreading the monotonous legal documents that clerks like Bartleby were paid pennies to copy, and a scene at the end where a jail cook rattles off all the former occupations of its now-nameless inmates.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for nameless
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Chicago Tribune, 10 Mar. 2026
It isn’t hidden in an alley or obscured via a nameless door.
—Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 4 Mar. 2026
As the play’s nameless protagonist, Radcliffe has the difficult task of being both its emotional engine and its conductor, leading the laypeople through their cues.
—Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 4 Mar. 2026
This includes a comic scene about proofreading the monotonous legal documents that clerks like Bartleby were paid pennies to copy, and a scene at the end where a jail cook rattles off all the former occupations of its now-nameless inmates.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for nameless
Cite this Entry
“Nameless.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nameless. Accessed 14 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
nameless
adjective
name·less
ˈnām-ləs 
1
: having no name
2
: not marked with a name
a nameless grave
3
: unknown entry 1, anonymous
a nameless hero
4
a
: impossible to describe
nameless fears
b
: too disgusting or disturbing to be described
nameless acts of cruelty
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