meaningless
gb/mˈinɪŋləs/ us/mˈinɪŋləs/
B2
English
~ 7800
értelmetlen, felesleges, hiábavaló, jelentés nélküli, őszintétlen, üres, értelmezhetetlen, megalapozatlan, nem értékelhető
B2
1
Usage pattern:
a meaningless [noun]
He quit his job because the work felt completely meaningless.
Azért mondott fel, mert teljesen értelmetlennek érezte a munkáját.
They died in what many saw as a meaningless war.
Egy olyan háborúban haltak meg, amelyet sokan értelmetlennek tartottak.
Filling out this extra form seems like a meaningless exercise.
Arguing with her about it is meaningless; she never changes her mind.
Some people find small talk meaningless and exhausting.
Learner examples
After the accident, his old problems seemed meaningless.
A baleset után a korábbi problémái jelentéktelennek tűntek.
She does the same meaningless tasks every day at work.
Mindennap ugyanazokat az értelmetlen feladatokat végzi a munkahelyén.
The meeting was long and meaningless for most of us.
The promise felt meaningless because nothing changed.
He thinks that money is meaningless without friends.
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes say *unmeaningful* instead of *meaningless*. In modern English, *meaningless* is the natural opposite of *meaningful* in most contexts. They may also confuse *meaningless* with *senseless*, which is often used for shocking or cruel things like *senseless violence*.
Meaning
having no purpose or value
Collocations
meaningless job
|meaningless task
|meaningless ritual
|meaningless rule
|meaningless gesture
|life feels meaningless
Synonyms
pointless (Stresses that there is no good reason or result; very close in meaning and tone.)
|
futile (Emphasizes that effort will not change the outcome; slightly more formal.)
|
worthless (Stronger and more emotional, suggesting no value at all.)
Antonyms
meaningful (Suggests something has purpose, value, or importance.)
|
purposeful (Highlights that something is done with a clear aim or goal.)
|
significant (Emphasizes importance or noticeable effect.)
Themes
emotions
|evaluation
|daily life
|core_vocabulary
Definition
Not useful or important; not giving any real result or value.
Having no real purpose, value, or effect; not worth doing, having, or paying attention to.
B2
2
értelmetlen
B1
Usage pattern:
[something] is meaningless to [someone]
To anyone outside the field, the formula on the board looked completely meaningless.
A szakterületen kívüliek számára a táblán lévő képlet teljesen értelmetlennek tűnt.
He woke up shouting a few meaningless words and then fell silent again.
Felébredt, néhány értelmetlen szót kiabált, aztán újra elhallgatott.
Without context, the numbers in this table are meaningless.
The recording was full of static and mostly meaningless noise.
For many students, these grammar terms are just meaningless labels.
Learner examples
The child made some meaningless sounds and laughed.
A gyerek értelmetlen hangokat adott ki, és nevetett.
These strange signs are meaningless to me.
Ezek a furcsa jelek számomra értelmetlenek.
Without a picture, the word list is almost meaningless.
Her message was so short that it felt meaningless.
The code looks meaningless until you learn how it works.
Common mistake:
Learners may confuse this sense with the idea of *not important*. Here, *meaningless* means *cannot be understood* or *does not make sense*, not just *unimportant*. Context usually shows which sense is intended.
Meaning
not understandable; without clear sense
Collocations
meaningless words
|meaningless noise
|meaningless symbols
|meaningless string of letters
|meaningless phrase
Synonyms
nonsensical (Focuses on being illogical or silly; often slightly stronger or more critical.)
|
unintelligible (Stresses that something cannot be understood, often because of sound or complexity.)
|
gibberish (Usually a noun; suggests speech or writing that sounds like random noise.)
Antonyms
meaningful (Indicates that something clearly expresses an idea or message.)
|
intelligible (Highlights that something can be understood without difficulty.)
|
coherent (Emphasizes logical connection and clear structure.)
Themes
language
|communication
|education
|core_vocabulary
Definition
Made of sounds, words, signs, or actions that people cannot understand or that do not make sense.
Not conveying a clear, understandable meaning; composed of sounds, words, symbols, or actions that do not make logical or recognizable sense.
C1
3
őszintétlen
B2
üres
B2
Usage pattern:
a meaningless [emotion-related noun]
He gave a quick, meaningless apology and walked away.
Odavetett egy gyors, őszintétlen bocsánatkérést, és elsétált.
She smiled a meaningless smile that did not reach her eyes.
Őszintétlen mosolyt villantott, amely nem ért el a szeméig.
After breaking his promise so many times, his words of love sounded meaningless.
The manager offered some meaningless praise to end the meeting on a positive note.
They exchanged a few meaningless formalities before starting the real discussion.
Learner examples
He said sorry, but it felt meaningless.
Azt mondta, sajnálja, de a bocsánatkérése őszintétlennek tűnt.
She gave him a meaningless smile and turned away.
Őszintétlenül rámosolygott, majd elfordult.
His words of love are meaningless now.
The boss gave us a meaningless thank-you speech.
The card was pretty, but the message was meaningless.
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes use only *fake* or *not real* and miss the common choice *meaningless* for apologies, promises, smiles, and similar emotional actions. Also, *meaningless* here is about lack of real feeling, not about logical sense.
Meaning
not sincere; without real feeling
Collocations
meaningless apology
|meaningless smile
|meaningless promise
|meaningless words
|meaningless praise
Synonyms
insincere (Focuses clearly on lack of honest feeling or belief.)
|
empty (Suggests that the words or actions have no real feeling inside them.)
|
hollow (Conveys that something sounds serious but has no real substance or feeling.)
Antonyms
sincere (Clearly expresses true feelings or beliefs.)
|
heartfelt (Strongly and deeply sincere, especially about emotions like thanks or apologies.)
|
genuine (Stresses that words or actions are real and honest, not for show.)
Themes
emotions
|relationships
|social
|communication
|core_vocabulary
Definition
Said or done without real feeling or plan, only as a habit or to look good.
Not expressing genuine feelings or real intention, often because it is done out of habit, politeness, or for appearance only.
C1
TECHNICAL
4
Usage pattern:
a meaningless [measurement/result/comparison]
With such a small sample size, any conclusions drawn from this study are statistically meaningless.
Ilyen kis mintaméret mellett a tanulmányból levont következtetések statisztikailag megalapozatlanok.
Without a control group, the experiment's results are basically meaningless.
Kontrollcsoport nélkül a kísérlet eredményei lényegében értelmezhetetlenek.
Comparing scores from two different tests like this is meaningless.
Because of missing data, the model produced meaningless predictions.
Taken out of context, these percentages are almost meaningless for decision-making.
Learner examples
Because there were only five people, the test results were meaningless.
Mivel csak öt ember vett részt benne, a teszt eredményei értelmezhetetlenek voltak.
If the data are wrong, the numbers are meaningless.
Ha az adatok hibásak, a számok nem értelmezhetők.
The teacher said that this comparison is meaningless in science.
Without a good plan, the survey gave meaningless information.
The graph looks nice, but the results are meaningless.
Common mistake:
Learners may read *statistically meaningless* as simply *not important*. In technical writing, it specifically suggests that the result is not reliable or cannot support a conclusion.
Meaning
not valid or interpretable (data/results)
Collocations
meaningless statistics
|meaningless result
|meaningless comparison
|meaningless correlation
|statistically meaningless
Synonyms
invalid (Technical term stressing that a result does not meet required conditions.)
|
insignificant (Often used statistically to mean that an effect may be due to chance.)
|
uninterpretable (Emphasizes that no clear conclusion can be drawn from the data.)
Antonyms
significant (In statistics, indicates that a result is unlikely to be due to chance.)
|
robust (Suggests that results are strong and reliable across different tests.)
|
valid (Means that a test or result properly measures what it is supposed to measure.)
Themes
science
|statistics
|research
|technology
Definition
Used in science, statistics, or research to say that numbers or results do not give real information, usually because the test or data is not good enough.
In technical or analytical contexts, not providing valid, reliable, or interpretable information, often because of insufficient data, poor method, or incorrect comparison.
Grammar
Dictionary form
meaningless
IPA
GB/mˈinɪŋləs/
US/mˈinɪŋləs/
Syllables & stress
mean - ing - less (3 syllables)
Stress on 1st syllable (mean)
Word forms
Adjective
- Base: meaningless
Word family
Core family
Related words
meaningfully
adverb
Advanced or less common
meaninglessly
adverb C1
meaninglessness
noun
Expressions
a meaningless gesture
1/ə mˈinɪŋləs d͡ʒˈɛst͡ʃɚ/
fixed phrase
an action without real effect
An action that looks kind or polite but does not really help or does not show true feeling.
Examples
- Sending flowers after years of silence felt like a meaningless gesture.
- Without real change, the public apology was just a meaningless gesture.