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scaleless

scaleless

7.1
An animal's skin with no hard plates
  • adjective
  • /ˈskeɪləs/
translation icon : 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
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

4.9

Covered with small overlapping hard plates like fish or armor

How Scaly

scaled
4.9
scalelike
  • Specialized
7.4
scaleless
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.