as in numbness
a lack of emotion or emotional expressiveness
though she always acts so blasé about everything, I think her air of affectlessness is largely put on
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for affectlessness
Noun
-
Keeping one breast leaves a small chance that the cancer will return, but Simpson said the possibility was worth it to her to avoid numbness across much of her chest from having the nerves removed along with the mammary tissue.—
Meg Wingerter,
Denver Post,
11 Mar. 2026 -
Both her grief and numbness are palpably captured by De Pue’s camera.—
Murtada Elfadl,
Variety,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Smelling of rotting grapes, the phlegm is musty and acetone-tinged, like a decanter of red wine forgotten in a dark kitchen corner after a dinner party, left to turn into vinegar.—
Courtney Crowder,
Des Moines Register,
15 Mar. 2026
-
Psychological treatment for anxiety and increased masking in public are in many cases sufficient to treat this unfortunate buildup of phlegm and embarrassment.—
Alexis Wilkinson,
New Yorker,
2 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The lack of a clear frontrunner reflects broader candidate disengagement and voter apathy rather than healthy political competition, with only four of eight Democratic candidates even appearing at a major housing panel just weeks before the primary.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Mar. 2026
-
The impossibility of keeping up breeds apathy and stymies opposition.—
Steve Chapman,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Over time, this creates a sense of emptiness, a lack of purpose and significance.—
Arthur C. Brooks
March 22,
CBS News,
22 Mar. 2026
-
The tens of thousands of conference attendees who surged into downtown San Jose this week provided a stark contrast to the typical daytime emptiness, and highlighted the otherwise sluggish recovery of the city’s economically vital conference and convention business.—
Ethan Baron,
Mercury News,
21 Mar. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Affectlessness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/affectlessness. Accessed 30 Mar. 2026.
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