punchless

1 6.9

Not strong and having little effect or excitement

adjective
/ˈpʌnʧləs/

: sin fuerza

And don't get me started on the punchless Chiefs.

Examples

BSU again will rely on 2011-12 leading scorer Jordan George to lead a team that was punchless on offense last season.

Blog text (25)
Granderson was playing shallow, which made sense with the punchless Ciriaco at the plate.

Blog text (9)
But the onus to keep the contest competitive will clearly be on BYU's punchless offense.

Blog text (19)
The team's punchless performance in the championship game disappointed their fans who expected a strong showing.
Despite their skilled players, the squad's punchless strategy left them unable to score any goals during the match.
She found the novel to be punchless, lacking the excitement and tension she had hoped for.

Synonyms

forceless

vspunchless

6.9

Not strong or effective enough to make an impression

is broader covering lack of general impact rather than only bodily weakness

unforceful

vspunchless

5.9

Weak and not strong enough to change people's minds

is broader applying to lack of overall impact and influence not only action

unpowerful

vspunchless

5.8

Not strong and not able to make things happen

is narrower mainly about lacking physical strength or direct effect rather than influence

Antonyms

powerful

∞ 1.7

Having great physical strength, like a strong machine or person

effective

986 3.1

Produces the intended result, for example a speech or medicine

How Forceful

powerful

∞ 1.7

forceful

62 4.3

punchless

1 6.9

weak

312 1.5

Surface Forms

punchless positive

Morphology

punchless = punch (transparent) = punch + less

The adjective is directly formed by adding the negative suffix '-less' to 'punch', meaning 'without punch' or lacking force.

Etymology

The word punchless comes from punch, which means a strong 'hit' or strong 'effect', plus the ending -less, which means 'without'. So something punchless has no force or impact and feels weak.