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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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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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 The Rockies, meanwhile, remain trapped in baseball purgatory as a meat packer’s toy, building a home team for Phillies red and Cubbies blue to pound senseless while Denver’s transplants toast $3 drafts. Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, 23 Mar. 2025 The series begins with his shocking arrest and traverses his first police interview; the detectives on the case at his school, groping for clarity on a senseless crime; and how his family navigates both their raw new reality and their past decisions. Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 23 Mar. 2025 These stories in the news tend to be called tragedies, or even senseless tragedies, but only a careless writer would use those words so unthinkingly. Yiyun Li, The New Yorker, 23 Mar. 2025 This common-sense bill could’ve prevented her senseless death. Alexandra Koch, Fox News, 13 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for senseless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for senseless
Adjective
  • The vagus nerve—the part of your nervous system that’s responsible for regulating various unconscious bodily functions like your heart rate, immune response, and digestion—plays a major role in these symptoms.
    Kathleen Ferraro, SELF, 15 Apr. 2025
  • By the time the wagon arrived at the Western District station, its sixth stop, Gray was unconscious.
    Michelle Deal-Zimmerman, Baltimore Sun, 12 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Yes, the games are meaningless.
    Harman Dayal, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2025
  • Also; regardless if the Rockies are good or bad; shouldn’t they be applauded for bringing up prospects early and not pausing for a future control that might be meaningless?
    Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Friendships built on insecurity, where men constantly have to prove their manhood, are a breeding ground for toxic attitudes and stupid decision-making.
    Terry Ward, CNN Money, 13 Apr. 2025
  • Also, his team told him over the radio, basically, don’t do anything stupid, Nato is going to be penalized for not using all his Attack Mode.
    David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 12 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • While tailback isn’t a need, only foolish franchises pass up adding generational talents such as Jeanty.
    Omar Kelly, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Apr. 2025
  • Evening rush-hour commuters — who thought winter was over — felt foolish after the city was socked with a record-breaking spring snowfall.
    Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 1 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • 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
  • 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
  • This strategy worked for him for about 10 years—and then began to bore him silly.
    Art Spiegelman, The Atlantic, 9 Apr. 2025
  • Props to the people who green-lit Angry Birds to give kids a silly movie about infanticide.
    Jordan Crucchiola, Vulture, 4 Apr. 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 24 Apr. 2025.

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