senseless

adjective

sense·​less ˈsen(t)s-ləs 

: destitute of, deficient in, or contrary to sense: such as

a

: unconscious

knocked senseless

b

: foolish, stupid

… it was some senseless practical joke …

—Arthur Conan Doyle

c

: meaningless

a senseless murder

senselessly adverb

senselessness noun

Synonyms of senseless

• unconscious

Examples of senseless in a Sentence

Don't be such a senseless idiot!

she collapsed, senseless, after hitting her head

Recent Examples on the Web

This country is grieving too many senseless and violent deaths and shootings. —Zack Sharf, Variety, 17 June 2026

The tragicomic, by contrast, elevates mixed affect as an ethical experience of a senseless world. —Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 14 June 2026

As a ruthless hitman (Javier Bardem) tries to track him down, the local sheriff (Tommy Lee Jones) tries to make sense of it all and faces an existential crisis about the senseless violence of the world today. —Eric Farwell, Entertainment Weekly, 12 June 2026

The boy’s family and county leaders are renewing their plea for witnesses to come forward, saying justice for a child lost to senseless street violence is long overdue. —Seamus Bozeman follow, Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1547, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for senseless

• defenseless

Kids Definition

senseless

adjective

sense·​less ˈsen(t)-sləs 

1

: unconscious entry 1 sense 2

knocked senseless

2

: foolish, stupid

3

: pointless sense 1, meaningless

a senseless act

senselessly adverb

senselessness noun