Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

-less

/ləs/

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: 5.49 in modern English

Syllables: -less
IPA: /ləs/

4

Scrabble Score

4

Letters

2

Syllables

3

Unique Chars

Meaning

suffix

Lacking (something); without (something). Added usually to a noun to form an adjective signifying a lack of that noun.

Example Sentences

"aweless, skill-less, artless, doubtless, countless, soulless, will-less, tireless."
"The ability of a segment of a glass sphere to magnify whatever is placed before it was known around the year 1000, when the spherical segment was called a reading stone, essentially what today we might term a frameless magnifying glass or plain glass paperweight."

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *lewh₁- Proto-Indo-European *lewHs-der. Proto-Germanic *leusaną Proto-Germanic *lausaz Proto-Germanic *-lausaz Proto-West Germanic *-laus Old English -lēas Middle English -les English -less From Middle English -les, -leas, from Old English -lēas (“-less”) (compare lēas (“devoid of, loose from, false”)), from Proto-West Germanic *-laus, from Proto-Germanic *-lausaz, from *lausaz (“loose”). (Not related to less, which derives from *laisiz, *laisizô.) Cognate with Scots -less, West Frisian -leas, Saterland Frisian -loos, Dutch -loos, Low German -los, German -los, Danish -løs, Swedish -lös, Icelandic -laus. More at loose.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: -les, -lēas, *-laus, *-lausaz

Inflected Forms

more -less (comparative) most -less (superlative) -lesse (alternative, obsolete)

Synonyms

an- ex- -free

Antonyms

-ed -y -some -ful

Questions

How do you pronounce -less?: The recorded pronunciation is /ləs/.
What does -less mean?: Lacking (something); without (something). Added usually to a noun to form an adjective signifying a lack of that noun.
Where does -less come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce -less

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “-less”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ləs/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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Repeat and practice — Say “-less” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.