-less

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-less

/ləs/
/lɪs/

Where it comes from

From Middle English -les, -leas, from Old English -lēas (“-less”) (compare lēas (“devoid of, loose from, false”)), from Proto-West Germanic *-laus, from Proto-Germanic *-lausaz, from *lausaz (“loose”). (Not related to less, which derives from *laisiz, *laisizô.) Cognate with Scots -less, West Frisian -leas, Saterland Frisian -loos, Dutch -loos, Low German -los, German -los, Danish -løs, Swedish -lös, Icelandic -laus. More at loose.

suffix more -less · most -less · -lesse

morpheme, not comparable, usually Lacking (something); without (something). Added usually to a noun to form an adjective signifying a lack of that noun. aweless, skill-less, artless, doubtless, countless, soulless, will-less, tireless.
Similar: an-, ex-, -free

Opposite: -ed, -y, -some, -ful

Thesaurus

suffix

Opposite: -ed, -y, -some, -ful

Translations

Every language

suffix lacking

Español	sin, des-
日本語	-無し -nashi, 無- mu-, -ない -nai, 低- tei-
中文	無- /无- wú-
हिन्दी	-हीन -hīn
Kiswahili	bila
Português	sem, des-
Français	sans ...
Deutsch	-los
Italiano	senza, in-, s-, dis-
Ελληνικά	α- a-, αν- an-, λιπο- lipo-
Română	fără
Русский	без(ъ)-, бес(ъ)-
Tiếng Việt	cây đinh không
العربية	بِلَا bilā, غَيْر ... ḡayr ...
עברית	אל 'ál-

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MLA

"-less." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/-less. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

-less. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/-less

Chicago

"-less." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/-less.

BibTeX

@misc{less_2026,
  title = {-less},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/-less},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}