meaningless
gb/mˈinɪŋləs/ us/mˈinɪŋləs/
B2
English
~ 7800
Senses
0 senses
adjective
B2
property
1
having no purpose or value
Not useful or important; not giving any real result or value.
Usage pattern:
a meaningless [noun]
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*.
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.)
Collocations
meaningless job
|meaningless task
|meaningless ritual
|meaningless rule
|meaningless gesture
|life feels meaningless
Themes
emotions
|evaluation
|daily life
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- He quit his job because the work felt completely meaningless.
- They died in what many saw as a meaningless war.
- 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.
- She does the same meaningless tasks every day at work.
- 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.
adjective
B2
property
2
not understandable; without clear sense
Made of sounds, words, signs, or actions that people cannot understand or that do not make sense.
Usage pattern:
[something] is meaningless to [someone]
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.
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.)
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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.)
Collocations
meaningless words
|meaningless noise
|meaningless symbols
|meaningless string of letters
|meaningless phrase
Themes
language
|communication
|education
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- To anyone outside the field, the formula on the board looked completely meaningless.
- He woke up shouting a few meaningless words and then fell silent again.
- 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.
- These strange signs are meaningless to me.
- 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.
adjective
C1
property
3
not sincere; without real feeling
Said or done without real feeling or plan, only as a habit or to look good.
Usage pattern:
a meaningless [emotion-related noun]
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.
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.)
Collocations
meaningless apology
|meaningless smile
|meaningless promise
|meaningless words
|meaningless praise
Themes
emotions
|relationships
|social
|communication
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- He gave a quick, meaningless apology and walked away.
- She smiled a meaningless smile that did not reach her eyes.
- 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.
- She gave him a meaningless smile and turned away.
- 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.
adjective
technical
C1
property
4
not valid or interpretable (data/results)
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.
Usage pattern:
a meaningless [measurement/result/comparison]
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.
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.)
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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.)
Collocations
meaningless statistics
|meaningless result
|meaningless comparison
|meaningless correlation
|statistically meaningless
Themes
science
|statistics
|research
|technology
Examples
- With such a small sample size, any conclusions drawn from this study are statistically meaningless.
- Without a control group, the experiment's results are basically meaningless.
- 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.
- If the data are wrong, the numbers are meaningless.
- 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.
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.