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

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2
3
as in dumb
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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4
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 Stolen by a senseless act of violence, his family said. Briah Lumpkins, Charlotte Observer, 26 Sep. 2025 There is no place in our state for this type of senseless violence. Sophia Compton , Elizabeth Pritchett , Bradford Betz, FOXNews.com, 21 Sep. 2025 It’s been nine days since Charlie Kirk‘s assassination, and the senseless tragedy continues to reverberate throughout the culture. Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 19 Sep. 2025 This country is grieving too many senseless and violent deaths and shootings. Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 17 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for senseless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for senseless
Adjective
  • That was when the seizure occurred, making her fall unconscious.
    David Chiu, PEOPLE, 14 Oct. 2025
  • Upon arriving at her unit, officers found her unconscious and unresponsive; EMS officials responded to the scene and found the actress dead.
    KiMi Robinson, USA Today, 12 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Mainstream rap nowadays is suffocating from meaningless rivalries, subliminal shots for stans to decode and misinterpret, and redundant talk of who’s really in the streets and who’s snitching.
    Mosi Reeves, Rolling Stone, 14 Oct. 2025
  • What affected me most in Lahiri’s story was the sense of time passing, the way our obsessions seem meaningless in the aftermath of tragic events (or, rather, from the larger vantage point of a life).
    Cressida Leyshon, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • There was also, perhaps, general irritation at the idea that such a successful team should be the recipient of so much dumb luck.
    Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2025
  • Many students have acted boldly, and occasionally made dumb mistakes, because they were outraged by historical wrongs, incendiary speakers, cultural stereotypes, or other provocations.
    Christopher L. Eisgruber, Time, 9 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Orús and Lizaso believe that the AI arms race is foolish.
    Vivienne Walt, Fortune, 9 Oct. 2025
  • The Eagles were undone by foolish penalties, including two flags that negated first downs on a potential go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter and one flag that extended a Broncos drive late in the game when the Eagles had forced a fourth down.
    Zach Berman, New York Times, 6 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Many people backed his daughter because there was a dog outside in a way, while others acknowledge how creepy that inanimate face could be to a child.
    Alyce Collins, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Sep. 2025
  • Thin bony fingers as inanimate as dry cigarette papers.
    Hazlitt, Hazlitt, 16 July 2025
Adjective
  • When smart algorithms do stupid things But scratch beneath the surface, and the cracks start showing.
    Christopher Elliott, USA Today, 8 Oct. 2025
  • America has funded the Ukrainian government, Ukrainian pensions, and Ukrainian businesses during this entire stupid war that America should have nothing to do with.
    Jordan King, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • But the tone swings between sour and sweet, grounded and silly, and the jokes run more broadly wacky than precise or original.
    Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 13 Oct. 2025
  • In my eyes, much of the charm of a craft brewer is a willingness to be a little silly.
    Bradley Hohulin, IndyStar, 13 Oct. 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 17 Oct. 2025.

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