senseless

adjective

sense·​less ˈsen(t)s-ləs 

: destitute of, deficient in, or contrary to sense: such as

a

: unconscious

knocked senseless

b

: foolish, stupid

it was some senseless practical joke

—A. Conan Doyle

c

: meaningless

a senseless murder

senselessly adverb

senselessness noun

Synonyms

• cold
• insensible
• unconscious

Examples of senseless in a Sentence

Don't be such a senseless idiot!

she collapsed, senseless, after hitting her head

Recent Examples on the Web

In the painting Meaningless, 2003, for example, the words meaningless, senseless, and irrelevant eventually give way to blather, blabber, babble, then to drivel and drool, and, finally, to blah-blah-blah. —Jeffrey Weiss, Artforum, 1 May 2025

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

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1547, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for senseless

• defenseless

Kids Definition

senseless

adjective

sense·​less ˈsen(t)-sləs 

1

: unconscious entry 1 sense 2

knocked senseless

2

: foolish, stupid

3

: pointless sense 1, meaningless

a senseless act

senselessly adverb

senselessness noun