How do you pronounce lifeless?

The recorded pronunciation is /ˈlaɪfləs/.

Where does lifeless come from?

It is traced to Middle English.

lifeless

/ˈlaɪfləs/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.23 in modern English

Syllables: life-less
IPA: /ˈlaɪfləs/

Scrabble Score

Letters

Syllables

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

inanimate; having no life

adj

dead; having lost life

adj

uninhabited, or incapable of supporting life

adj

dull or lacking vitality

Example Sentences

"a farther paſſion feeds my thoughts, With ceaſeleſſe and diſconſolate conceits, Which dies my lookes so liueleſſe as they are, And might, if my extreames had ful euents, Make me the gaſtly counterfeit of death."
"In a largely lifeless second half their only shot on target was a tame overhead effort from Paul Pogba, and Mourinho's already stretched squad saw Luke Shaw and Lukaku limp off late on, while Ashley Young picked up a fifth booking of the season which rules him out of Wednesday's league game at home to Arsenal."

Etymology

From Middle English lyfles, lifles, from Old English līflēas (“lifeless”), equivalent to life + -less. Cognate with West Frisian libbensleas (“lifeless”), Dutch levenloos (“lifeless”), German leblos (“lifeless”), Danish livløs (“lifeless”), Swedish livlös (“lifeless”), Icelandic líflaus (“lifeless”).

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: lyfles, līflēas

Inflected Forms

more lifeless (comparative) most lifeless (superlative) liveless (alternative, obsolete)

Derived Forms

lifelessly lifelessness

Synonyms

immobile inert fixed immotile immovable inanimate lifeless sessile static rigid stationary stuck