Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Not needed or wished for; unnecessary.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Needlessly; without cause.
- Having no need; not in want of anything.
- Not wanted; unnecessary; not requisite: as, needless labor; needless expense.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective obsolete Having no need.
- adjective Not wanted; unnecessary; not requisite
- adjective Without sufficient cause; groundless; causeless.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Not
needed ;unnecessary .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective unnecessary and unwarranted
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word needless.
Examples
-
Accordingly he repaired to the Hotel de Ville, and gave to the Municipal Council so distinct an account of his measures, and of his reason for taking them, that, though Danton and some of his more factious colleagues reproached him for exhibiting what they called a needless distrust of the people, the majority of the Council approved of his conduct, and dismissed him to return to his duties.
The Life of Marie Antoinette Yonge, Charles Duke, 1812-1891 1876
-
Mr Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, became the first senior Government minister to appear on television to talk about the riots - which he described as "needless, opportunist theft and violence" - since they erupted on Saturday night.
Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph online, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph 2011
-
"It's more likely for a person to be struck by lightning than impersonate a voter," said Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, who heads the Senate's Democratic caucus, in denouncing what she called a needless and politically motivated bill that would echo Texas's
-
Yuko told NBC4 he wants to ease what he described as needless pain and suffering associated with a variety of diseases and illnesses.
News for NBC4i.com 2009
-
Michael Kelley, a non-smoker who survived cancer his doctor blamed on second-hand smoke in the workplace, asked lawmakers to put an end to what he called needless suffering.
-
(Doubtless, these flimsy conspiracy theorists will infest the comment threads in needless defense.)
Chase Whiteside: New Left Media at the Rally to Restore Sanity (VIDEO) Chase Whiteside 2010
-
For them, it was easy to send other people's children to fight and die in needless wars (Iraq).
CNN Poll: Americans mostly agree with Obama on Afghanistan 2009
-
Then there were the 1.3 Trillion in needless tax cuts for the rich, further skewing the already miserably obscene income inequitable distribution.
Health Insurance Reform reality check (Blog for Democracy) 2009
-
(Doubtless, these flimsy conspiracy theorists will infest the comment threads in needless defense.)
Chase Whiteside: New Left Media at the Rally to Restore Sanity (VIDEO) Chase Whiteside 2010
-
Unfortunately for all Americans, compromised healthcare ALWAYS results in needless suffering, injury, disability, and or death.
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.