wordless

Examples

• All

• And Momma and Daddy had already forgotten him, standing still, wordless, looking at each other.

  Fiction book (1996)

• I dressed quickly, gave Schulz a long, wordless hug, and hightailed it toward home in the Rover.

  Fiction book (1993)

• From the moment we met... I knew there was a deep, wordless understanding between us.

  Monsieur Verdoux (1947)

• Where had he heard such a voice before, wordless in crying?

  Fiction book (1996)

• Next, we gave the students a variety of wordless comics.

  Academic text (2014)

• Then, the same five respondents answered the questions after viewing the wordless picture books.

  Academic text (2011)

• In wordless or nearly wordless picturebooks, images carry the primary task of emotional engagement.

  Academic text (2013)

• In the present study, wordless picture books were used to elicit stories from cognitively healthy adults.

  Academic text (2011)

• Bandicut pulled his curtain shut and fell back with a wordless groan, eyes closed.

  Fiction book (1994)

• The children communicated in a wordless way, using gestures and expressions to understand each other.

Synonyms

S

silent

vswordless

81 3.7

Understood without words

is broader, covering any expression lacking spoken or written words

U

unspoken

vswordless

56 4.8

Not said aloud but people understand it

explicitly includes absence of both spoken and written verbal expression

U

unsaid

vswordless

20 5.8

Not spoken out loud

also applies when something is omitted in writing as well as speech

M

mute

vswordless

20 4.1

Not using speech, often shown by a look or gesture

adds that it covers also absence of written expression not just silence

T

tongueless

vswordless

• Literature

1 9.9

Shown or felt without spoken words

is the neutral everyday description rather than literary phrasing

N

nonspeaking

vswordless

1 6.0

Not using spoken words, for example a silent actor or someone using sign language

applies more generally to any expression lacking spoken or written words

N

nonlexical

vswordless

• Specialized

8.8

Not about words or word meanings and often about sounds and grammar

focuses instead on absence of both spoken and written words broadly

P

phraseless

vswordless

8.8

Not able to find words because of strong feeling

describes absence of words as a state rather than simple silent expression

Antonyms

V

verbal

116 4.3

Having to do with words and language or skill in using them

S

spoken

1 1.0

Said aloud rather than written

How Verbal

talkative

33 2.5

verbal

37 3.2

unspoken

56 4.8

silent

257 1.0

wordless

9 4.1

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology