toothless

adjective

tooth·​less ˈtüth-ləs 

1

: having no teeth

2

a

: lacking in sharpness or bite

… spoke in toothless generalities.

—Arthur Hepner

b

: lacking in means of enforcement or coercion : ineffectual

Examples of toothless in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Ferrell, Henchy and David Gordon Green all previously worked on Eastbound & Down, a sports comeback series with enough superficial similarities to underline how toothless The Hawk and especially its characters are. — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 16 July 2026

Critics weren’t as fond of the weirdly toothless movie, but audiences showed up anyway. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 2 July 2026

Belgium, though, could have done with someone in that goalscoring age sweet spot, having looked toothless in attack with a squad shorn of any 27-year-olds. — Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 24 June 2026

Rather, a toothless state regulation was neutered by a 2022 law that turned a famously public vetting process into one more DeSantis-era example of how democracy dies in darkness. — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 3 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for toothless

• ruthless

Medical Definition

toothless

adjective

tooth·​less ˈtüth-ləs 

: having no teeth