motionless

motionless — adjective

1. not moving even a tiny amount; staying in one position with no change at all.

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

not moving even a tiny amount; staying in one position with no change at all.

Example

The cat sat motionless on the steps, watching a butterfly in the garden.

collocation: sit/stand/lie/remain + motionless

Yara stood motionless at the edge of the pool, trying not to scare the fish.

motionless following a verb of position (stood)

Common collocations
  • stand motionless
  • sit motionless
  • lie motionless
  • remain motionless
  • stay motionless
  • motionless figure
  • motionless body
  • motionless face
  • motionless surface
  • motionless air
Synonyms
  • still

    more common and broader in meaning; can also refer to silence or continuation ('still waiting')

  • stationary

    more formal; usually describes vehicles or objects that are not in motion

  • immobile

    slightly more formal; can suggest inability to move rather than a deliberate stillness

  • static

    more technical; implies no change or development over time

Antonyms
  • moving

    the direct opposite — changing position or location

  • active

    suggests energy, motion, or ongoing movement

Grammar Patterns

be + motionless

remain + motionless

stand/sit/lie + motionless

Usage Note

Motionless is commonly paired with verbs describing a fixed position (stand, sit, lie, remain, stay). Unlike still, it never carries the meanings of 'quiet' (no sound) or 'continuing into the present' — it refers only to a complete lack of physical movement.

Common Mistakes

The lake had a perfect motionless.
The lake was perfectly motionless.
motionless is an adjective, not a noun. Use stillness or motionlessness for the noun form.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Motionless, still, stationary, immobile, and static all describe an absence of movement, but they differ in nuance. Still is the most common everyday word and can also mean 'quiet' ('the house was still') or 'continuing' ('she is still here'). Stationary is more formal and typically applied to vehicles or objects that are not in motion ('a stationary car'). Immobile often carries a sense of being unable to move rather than choosing to stay still ('the injured bird lay immobile'). Static is the most technical of the group, emphasising a lack of change or progress ('the economy remained static'). For example, you would say a statue stood motionless (visual stillness), but a broken-down bus was stationary (no travel), a patient in a coma was immobile (cannot move), and a population count was static (no growth).

still ↗stationary ↗immobile ↗static ↗

Common collocations

Adverbs

  • completely motionless
  • perfectly motionless
  • almost motionless
  • absolutely motionless
  • nearly motionless

Phrases

  • frozen motionless
  • standing motionless
  • sitting motionless

Etymology

LatinOld EnglishEnglish

Motionless is formed from 'motion' (which comes from Latin 'motio', based on 'movere' meaning 'to move') combined with the suffix '-less' (from Old English '-leas', meaning 'without' or 'devoid of'). The word literally means 'without motion' and first appeared in English writing during the late 1500s.