defenseless
77
3.5
- adjective
- /dɪˈfɛns.ləs/
- US
:
indefenso
- My king, we are all but defenseless.
- a defenseless victim
- defenseless against an attack
- defenseless civilians
The criminals of the underworld came out and in the confusion preyed on the elderly and defenseless young girls.
- The criminals of the underworld came out and in the confusion preyed on the elderly and defenseless young girls.
- They're most of us are defenseless or almost defenseless the moment we're born.
- UFOs the US Navy is defenseless against really work.
- Selection might favor your engaging in war against a defenseless enemy or genocide, right?
- Seeing themselves as defenseless, they seek out a stronger authority to or belief to resolve all their problems.
- So in, in in this particular sequence, Tao being associated with the muse, he's basically defenseless.
Examples
-
The kitten was left defenseless in the park without its mother.
-
Antoine realized that the abbess was as defenseless and as irrelevant to the world as an orphan.
Fiction book (2000) -
Well, looks like we're totally defenseless now.
-
Why were those people living in this defenseless place?
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We trust that no one would harm a poor defenseless animal.
-
Plants and flowers are the oldest species on the planet, yet they are defenseless against man.
Fiction book (1997) -
Only a coward would hit a defenseless boy.
-
Now Tracy's home alone most nights and she's not the only defenseless woman in this city.
-
The criminals of the underworld came out and in the confusion preyed on the elderly and defenseless young girls.
-
No longer the benevolent patriarch, he "overawed the quiet and defenseless to purchase their safety by frequent contributions."
Academic text (2009)
Synonyms
581
4.0
At risk of being harmed, attacked or influenced
243
2.0
Not able to act or protect yourself
30
3.2
Left without protection and open to danger
28
2.9
Not safe from harm
8
5.1
Not careful about what you say or do, so you reveal more than you want
3
6.0
Not protected from attack or criticism
1
5.5
Exposed to problems from outside without protection for people or things
Not protected and open to danger
Has no protection by walls or added vitamins
Feeling alone and without help or advice
Antonyms
How Defenseless
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
The word defenseless comes from defend meaning 'to keep away harm' and the ending -less meaning 'without', so it describes someone or something 'without protection' and unable to 'fend off' danger.