rightless

8.0

Someone the law and other people do not protect

adjective
/ˈraɪt.ləs/

: sin derechos

That law made the workers rightless, stripping them of any legal entitlements to fair wages.

Examples

The oppressive regime left many citizens feeling rightless in their fight for freedom.
In that unjust society, the refugees were viewed as rightless and without any protection.
Your right to anything at others' expense means that they become rightless.

Blog text (8)
Your "right" to happiness at their expense means that they become rightless serfs, i.e., your slaves.

Blog text (8)
You have a right to work, not to rob others of the fruits of their work, not to turn others into sacrificial, rightless animals laboring to fulfill your needs.

Blog text (8)

Antonyms

entitled

1 4.4

Has the right by law or rules to receive something

How Protected

constitutional right

Formal

84 4.1

exclusive right

Specialized

9 7.1

recognized

Formal

3.5

Harijan rights

Offensive

9.9

rightless

8.0

Surface Forms

rightless positive

Morphology

rightless = right (transparent) = right + less

The meaning is directly derived from 'right' with the suffix '-less' indicating absence.

Etymology

Rightless comes from right ('a legal or moral claim') and the ending -less ('without'), as in hopeless. So rightless means 'without rights', which is why it describes people who have no legal protection.