Dictionary

soulless en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˈsəʊl.ləs/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• [ˈsoʊɫ.ləs] (General-American)
• (US) audio
• /ˈsoʊl.ləs/ (General-American)

Etymology

From Middle English soulelez; equivalent to soul + -less. Compare Old English sāwollēas; the Middle English word likely is a re-formation.

Meanings

1. As if without a soul; insensitive, unfeeling.
   • Oh! who young Leila's glance could read / And keep that portion of his creed / Which saith, that woman is but dust, / A soulless toy for tyrant's lust? 1813, Lord Byron, The Giaour, a Fragment of a Turkish Tale, London: […] T[homas] Davison, […], for John Murray, […], →OCLC, page 12:
   • But I do believe there’s another path—one that fuels growth and innovation, and offers the clearest route to individual opportunity and national success. It does not require succumbing to a soulless capitalism that benefits only the few, but rather recognizes that economies are more successful when we close the gap between rich and poor, and growth is broadly based. 2016 September 20, Barack Obama, Remarks at the United Nations General Assembly, archived from the original on 05 Jul 2022:
   • “Done?” he said, with a soulless sneer in the word. 1891, Thomas Hardy, chapter XLVI, in Tess of the d’Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: James R[ipley] Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., […], →OCLC:
   • Number One had never before seen a woman, but the sight of this one awoke in the unplumbed depths of his soulless breast a great desire to lay his hands upon her. 1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, chapter 3, in The Monster Men, published 1929:
   • St Pancras is no longer soulless. The NRA accolade says it all: its soul is back where it truly belongs! 2022 November 30, Nick Brodrick, “Pride and innovation shine at St Pancras”, in RAIL, number 971, page 69:
   • Go backe I warrant thee: but Ile catch thine eyes / Though they had wings. Slaue, Soule-leſſe, Villain, Dog. / O rarely baſe! c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii], page 366:

Forms

Deriveds

soullessly · soullessness

Translations (21)

de seelenlos (as if without a soul) · lt bedvasis (as if without a soul) · hu lelketlen (as if without a soul) · sv själlös (as if without a soul) · ang sāwollēas (as if without a soul) · pl bezduszny (as if without a soul) · vi vô hồn (as if without a soul) · bg бездушен (as if without a soul) · eo senanima (as if without a soul) · nl zielloos (as if without a soul) · fi sieluton (as if without a soul) · ru безду́шный (as if without a soul) · nb sjelløs (as if without a soul) · ko 영혼이없는 (as if without a soul) · nn sjellaus (as if without a soul) · da sjælløs (as if without a soul) · es desangelado (as if without a soul) · hu lélektelen (as if without a soul) · pt desalmado (as if without a soul) · de entseelt (as if without a soul) · es desalmado (as if without a soul)