1
as in unconscious
having lost consciousness she collapsed, senseless, after hitting her head

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2
3
as in stupid
not having or showing an ability to absorb ideas readily he may be a little absentminded, but he's really not as senseless as he seems

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5
as in inanimate
lacking animate awareness or sensation even the senseless sea seemed determined to swamp the storm-tossed ship

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of senseless If there's a silver lining to an otherwise senseless spate of arbor violence, Vejar said, the city now has an opportunity to diversify its urban forest. Vanessa Romo, NPR, 30 Apr. 2025 And just as DeLillo seemed to spookily foreshadow a financial collapse on the horizon, so did Cronenberg somehow make the perfect apocalyptic allegory for 2025, a time when rich oligarchs are shrugging off their own senseless blitzkrieg on the dollar. A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 28 Apr. 2025 Too many people [are] DYING, thousands a week, in a terrible and senseless war. Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Apr. 2025 Selfish and senseless acts that strip away a vital piece of our ecosystem are profoundly disturbing and my office will prosecute anyone who engages in such criminal conduct to the fullest extent of the law. Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 24 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for senseless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for senseless
Adjective
  • According to the district attorney’s office, the autopsy also revealed that Bella still may have been alive, although unconscious, when Landon folded her body and stuffed it in the bucket head first.
    Nicole Acosta, People.com, 6 May 2025
  • The pregnant woman, who had been in her second trimester, was found unconscious and not breathing when police arrived at the home, the probable cause said.
    Kate Linderman, Kansas City Star, 5 May 2025
Adjective
  • And yet, in certain ways, the film doesn’t go as deep as Orwell’s observations; its choice of illustrative material generally hews to contemporary party lines, even while showcasing wise words that render such distinctions all but meaningless.
    Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 17 May 2025
  • Passion projects are paused indefinitely, tasks feel meaningless, and things at work that used to make sense now just seem pointless.
    Lindsay Kohler, Forbes.com, 16 May 2025
Adjective
  • In one sense, this isn’t an entirely stupid proposition.
    Air Mail, Air Mail, 3 May 2025
  • Vel rails against the offender, saying her lover was the kind of warrior the Ghor rebels are trying to be and that her loss is both incalculable and stupid.
    Noel Murray, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • And this is not a story of corporate greed run amok, because Walmart would be foolish to try to gouge its customers at a time when economic anxiety is high (more on that in a moment).
    Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 16 May 2025
  • Peters said the training from Wayne State's Institute of Gerontology has helped credit union employees to better frame probing questions that will get a positive response without making members feel foolish.
    Susan Tompor, USA Today, 15 May 2025
Adjective
  • That adds individuality to sections of inanimate space.
    Nielsen Dinwoodie, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025
  • Wait until these powers are in the hands of an inanimate AI programmed to disfavor or even target conservatives through the vast powers of the federal government.
    Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Ratajkowski has been fighting the stereotype of the dumb model from the beginning of her career.
    Daniel Jackson, Allure, 18 July 2017
  • Ninety nine percent of all NFL players are explicitly not dumb.
    Andy Benoit, The MMQB, 10 July 2017
Adjective
  • Using the Graham Norton hologram to tell us that the Earth was turned to ash on May 24th, 2025 is just the right kind of silly for this show.
    Ryan Woodrow, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 May 2025
  • Eurovision is still too much of a silly spectacle for some, even with JJ in it.
    Alex Marshall, New York Times, 16 May 2025
Adjective
  • The brain, like other internal organs, is insensate, its lack of sensory receptors attested by videos of virtuoso violinists who play on unfazed as neurosurgeons go to work inside their skulls.
    Matthew Ponsford, WIRED, 19 Sep. 2024
  • But states have used midazolam alone — and at much higher doses — in executions since 2013, claiming the drug will render people insensate to pain before the administration of other lethal injection drugs.
    Lauren Gill, ProPublica, 29 Apr. 2023

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Cite this Entry

“Senseless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/senseless. Accessed 23 May. 2025.

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