Skip to main content
scaleless

scaleless

1 7.1
An animal's skin with no hard plates
  • adjective
  • /ˈskeɪləs/
: sin escamas
  • The scaleless fish glided through the water with ease, its smooth skin shimmering in the light.

Examples

  • I mean, since nothing else exists in existence to compare it to, this thing would be scaleless.

  • Zoning for density and mixed uses is not enough; however, where it produces projects and streetscapes that are scaleless and unfriendly to pedestrians.

    Academic text (2001)
  • Many amphibians, like frogs, are scaleless and rely on their permeable skin to absorb moisture.

  • The scaleless creature was a rare find, distinguished by its unique, slick surface that set it apart from other species.

Synonyms

unscaled
vsscaleless
1 6.0

Not measured, changed, or covered with scales, for example raw data and fish

describes a surface without small overlapping plates on the skin

Antonyms

2 4.9

Covered with small overlapping hard plates like fish or armor

How Scaly

scaled
2 4.9
scalelike
  • Specialized
1 7.4
scaleless
1 7.1

Surface Forms

scaleless positive

Morphology

scaleless = scale (transparent) = scale + less

Meaning is directly derived from 'scale' + the productive suffix '-less' meaning 'without'.

Etymology

Scaleless breaks into scale, meaning the small hard plates on fish or reptiles, and -less, meaning 'without'. So it simply means 'without scales' and describes animals with smooth or unprotected skin.