meaningless

meaningless — adjective

1. Describing written words, symbols, sounds, or speech that do not carry any messa

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

Describing written words, symbols, sounds, or speech that do not carry any message or idea that a person can understand or make sense of.

Example

The ancient symbols carved on the stone wall looked completely meaningless to the archaeologists.

collocation: completely meaningless

Feng kept repeating the same meaningless sounds while staring out of the window.

attributive use: meaningless sounds

Common collocations
  • completely meaningless
  • utterly meaningless
  • entirely meaningless
  • totally meaningless
  • meaningless noise
  • meaningless symbols
  • meaningless words
  • meaningless speech
  • meaningless chatter
Synonyms
  • unintelligible

    Focuses on the impossibility of being understood rather than the absence of meaning; e.g. 'His speech was slurred and unintelligible.'

  • nonsensical

    Stronger tone — suggests the words are deliberately absurd or illogical, not simply empty.

  • empty

    More informal and vague; can refer to words that lack sincerity rather than semantic content.

Antonyms
  • meaningful

    The direct opposite — carries a clear message or purpose.

  • intelligible

    Possible to understand; implies the content is there but was previously unclear.

Grammar Patterns

meaningless + noun

be + meaningless

Usage Note

Gradable in theory, but the comparative forms 'more meaningless' and 'most meaningless' are far less common than adverb-modified versions such as 'completely meaningless' or 'utterly meaningless'. This sense overlaps slightly with 'unintelligible', but 'unintelligible' focuses on the lack of understandability, whereas 'meaningless' focuses on the lack of communicated content.

Common Mistakes

He filled the form with meaningless letters.
He filled the form with random letters.
'meaningless' describes something that fails to communicate; for unplanned or arbitrary choices, 'random' is more natural.
The signal was meaningless because the battery died.
The signal was lost because the battery died.
'meaningless' describes a lack of meaning, not a technical failure.

2. Having no real importance, value, or influence in a particular situation; not be

2.adjectiveB2
Definition

Having no real importance, value, or influence in a particular situation; not being worth serious attention or thought.

Example

The committee spent hours arguing over meaningless details instead of addressing the main problem.

collocation: meaningless details

Ava considered the award completely meaningless compared to her family's health and happiness.

Common collocations
  • completely meaningless
  • seemingly meaningless
  • rather meaningless
  • almost meaningless
  • meaningless details
  • meaningless arguments
  • meaningless statistics
  • meaningless promises
  • meaningless distinction
Synonyms
  • trivial

    More specific — suggests something is small or minor in scope; 'meaningless' carries a stronger dismissive tone.

  • insignificant

    Closer in register; 'insignificant' is more neutral and objective, while 'meaningless' is more emotive.

  • irrelevant

    Focuses on not being related to the topic at hand, rather than lacking importance in general.

Antonyms
  • important

    The direct opposite — having significance or influence.

  • significant

    Noteworthy or consequential; opposite of 'meaningless' in value terms.

  • meaningful

    Carrying importance or purpose; works across all three senses.

Grammar Patterns

seem + meaningless

become + meaningless

meaningless + noun

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 3 (PURPOSELESS). Sense 2 describes things that do not matter in a given context (trivial details, empty promises). Sense 3 describes a deeper existential or purpose-driven emptiness (a meaningless existence, a meaningless pursuit). The context of 'argument' or 'debate' can be ambiguous — 'The argument was meaningless' could mean either trivial (sense 2) or futile (sense 3), depending on the speaker's intent.

Common Mistakes

The error message was meaningless on my screen.
The error message made no sense on my screen.
'meaningless' describes a lack of communicated content; for a technical failure to be understood, 'made no sense' or 'was unclear' is more natural.
She felt meaningless when she lost the game.
She felt worthless when she lost the game.
'meaningless' describes things or situations, not a person's emotional state. Use 'worthless' or 'empty' for feelings.

3. Lacking any worthwhile purpose or valid reason, so that an activity, situation,

3.adjectiveB2
Definition

Lacking any worthwhile purpose or valid reason, so that an activity, situation, or state of being feels empty and not worth doing, having, or continuing.

Example

After his wife died, the old man felt his daily life had become completely meaningless.

collocation: completely meaningless

Arjun realised that trying to please everyone was a meaningless pursuit that only exhausted him.

attributive use: a meaningless pursuit

Common collocations
  • completely meaningless
  • utterly meaningless
  • largely meaningless
  • meaningless existence
  • meaningless life
  • meaningless job
  • meaningless pursuit
  • meaningless routine
  • meaningless ritual
  • meaningless relationship
Synonyms
  • pointless

    More active — emphasises that an effort or activity will achieve nothing; e.g. 'It is pointless to argue with someone who will not listen.'

  • futile

    Stronger and more formal — suggests that an attempt is certain to fail; e.g. 'The rescue effort was futile given the storm.'

  • purposeless

    Rarer and more literal — describes something that simply has no goal or aim.

  • empty

    More informal — describes an experience that feels hollow rather than aimless.

Antonyms
  • meaningful

    Carrying deep purpose or significance.

  • worthwhile

    Deserving the time or effort spent; the opposite of a futile or empty activity.

  • purposeful

    Deliberate and goal-directed; the opposite of an aimless existence.

Grammar Patterns

feel + meaningless

seem + meaningless

become + meaningless

meaningless + noun

Usage Note

This sense carries an existential or emotional weight that sense 2 (UNIMPORTANT) does not. Use sense 3 when the speaker is expressing frustration, emptiness, or despair about the lack of purpose. Sense 2 is more factual and context-dependent. The phrase 'meaningless relationship' could be sense 2 (a relationship with no real emotional value) or sense 3 (a relationship that feels futile because it is going nowhere).

Common Mistakes

The remote control is meaningless without batteries.
The remote control is useless without batteries.
'meaningless' is about purpose or meaning, not functionality. Use 'useless' for things that do not work.
She felt meaningless about the test results.
She felt that the test results were meaningless.
'meaningless' describes a thing or situation, not a feeling a person has. A person can feel 'worthless' or 'empty' instead.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four words describe language or symbols that fail to communicate effectively, but they differ in what specifically has gone wrong. 'Meaningless' is the broadest term — it states that no message exists or can be found, whether because the symbols are unknown, the words are random, or the content is absent. 'Unintelligible' narrows the cause to a failure of comprehension: the message might be present, but the receiver cannot decode it (e.g., slurred speech, a broken recording). 'Nonsensical' adds a judgment of absurdity — the words are not just empty but actively illogical or contradictory. 'Empty' is the most informal and emotional, often describing insincere promises or clichés rather than literal meaninglessness. For a learner, 'meaningless' is safest for neutral statements about failure to signify, while 'nonsensical' and 'empty' carry stronger speaker attitudes. For example: 'The scratch marks were meaningless to me' (neutral) vs. 'His excuse was utterly nonsensical' (scornful) vs. 'Her apology sounded empty' (emotional).

meaningless ↗unintelligible ↗nonsensical ↗empty ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • meaningless noise
  • meaningless words
  • meaningless symbols
  • meaningless details
  • meaningless arguments
  • meaningless existence
  • meaningless life
  • meaningless job
  • meaningless pursuit
  • meaningless routine
  • meaningless ritual
  • meaningless promises

Adverbs

Phrases

  • become meaningless
  • seem meaningless
  • feel meaningless
  • render something meaningless
  • make something meaningless

Prepositions

  • meaningless to + person

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Formed from the noun 'meaning' plus the suffix '-less', which means 'without'. The noun 'meaning' itself comes from the Old English verb 'mænan' (to intend, signify, or tell), which is related to the modern verb 'mean'. The adjective 'meaningless' has been used since the early 1800s to describe words, actions, or situations that have no sense or purpose.