1
: having no teeth
2
a
: lacking in sharpness or bite
spoke in toothless generalities—
Arthur Hepner
Arthur Hepner
b
: lacking in means of enforcement or coercion : ineffectual
Examples of toothless in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
IndieWire reported that members of the Art Directors Guild Local 800 — including some board members and some who worked on the AI task force ahead of negotiations — found the AI protections to be toothless.
—Brian Welk, IndieWire, 18 July 2024
Trump walked into the arena alone with hunched shoulders, a toothless smile and a large white bandage covering most of his injured right ear.
—Robin Givhan, Washington Post, 16 July 2024
Most of the characters who died in tragic circumstances between the movie and the start of the series happen to be the characters with some accompanying commentary, and they’ve been replaced by a bunch of new figures who are mostly toothless, so to speak.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 July 2024
Wong also called on the airline to investigate its protocols and treatment of travelers with disabilities, saying guidelines from aviation authorities were toothless.
—Kathleen Magramo, CNN, 9 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for toothless 
Brian Welk, IndieWire, 18 July 2024
Trump walked into the arena alone with hunched shoulders, a toothless smile and a large white bandage covering most of his injured right ear.
—Robin Givhan, Washington Post, 16 July 2024
Most of the characters who died in tragic circumstances between the movie and the start of the series happen to be the characters with some accompanying commentary, and they’ve been replaced by a bunch of new figures who are mostly toothless, so to speak.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 July 2024
Wong also called on the airline to investigate its protocols and treatment of travelers with disabilities, saying guidelines from aviation authorities were toothless.
—Kathleen Magramo, CNN, 9 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for toothless
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'toothless.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Toothless.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/toothless. Accessed 27 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
toothless
adjective
tooth·less
ˈtüth-ləs 
: having no teeth
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