Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Having no life; inanimate.
  • adjective Having lost life; dead. synonym: dead.
  • adjective Not inhabited by living beings or capable of sustaining life.
  • adjective Lacking vitality or animation; dull.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Deprived of life; dead; also, in a state of suspended animation.
  • Not possessing life; inanimate; inorganic: as, lifeless matter.
  • Destitute of power, force, vigor, or spirit; wanting animation or vital energy; dull; heavy; inactive; vapid; insipid: as, a lifeless style of oratory; lifeless movements.
  • Destitute of living beings.
  • Synonyms Defunct.
  • Inert, torpid, sluggish, spiritless, passive; flat, frigid, pointless.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Destitute of life, or deprived of life; not containing, or inhabited by, living beings or vegetation; dead, or apparently dead; spiritless; powerless; dull

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective inanimate; having no life
  • adjective dead; having lost life
  • adjective uninhabited, or incapable of supporting life
  • adjective dull or lacking vitality
  • adjective departed

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective deprived of life; no longer living
  • adjective lacking animation or excitement or activity
  • adjective destitute or having been emptied of life or living beings
  • adjective not having the capacity to support life

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

life +‎ -less

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