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rootless

rootless

5 6.4
Having no permanent home or close ties to a place
  • adjective
  • /ˈruːtləs/
: sin raíces
  • Followers of the Salafi tended to be lower middle class and, even more often, rootless, jobless youths.
  • rootless and mobile

And therefore, you know, how can our philosophy, our religion, if it's rootless in nature, how can it really be true?

Examples

  • For too many years, she and Maggot had been rootless, blown about from place to place like leaves in a storm.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • And therefore, you know, how can our philosophy, our religion, if it's rootless in nature, how can it really be true?

  • And you find that sort of rootless existence appealing, do you?

  • Well, I'm sure your dad has excellent reasons for leading a rootless and impulsive life.

  • So I traveled, I left, I spent years bumming around rootless.

  • These people are... rootless, Godless drifters.

  • Because he couldn't see the faces of his family, his joy felt weirdly rootless.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Rootless and disheartened, he had enrolled in law school at Boalt Hall in Berkeley.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • I wanted to cry out for the frogs, the toads, the salamanders, for my own disconnected and rootless self.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • After moving to three different cities in one year, he felt completely rootless and uncertain about where to call home.

Synonyms

vagabond
vsrootless
2 7.8

Living from place to place without a fixed home

lacks stable ties to any community rather than only moving around
anchorless
vsrootless
1 6.8

Having no firm base or sense of belonging

emphasizes missing community ties or home rather than lacking support

Antonyms

78 2.7

Living in one place and not moving around

75 3.7

Firmly connected to a particular place, idea, or feeling

Compounds

1 8.9

A person who has no permanent home and feels at home in many places

How Rooted

rooted
75 3.7
established
171 4.2
settled
78 2.7
rootless
5 6.4
transient
18 7.0

Surface Forms

rootless positive
rootlesser comparative
rootlessest superlative

Morphology

rootless = root (transparent) = root + less

The adjective is a regular formation 'root' + '-less' meaning 'without roots/ties', which a B1 learner can derive from the base word.

Etymology

Rootless comes from root meaning 'the part of a plant that holds it in the ground or a person's family and home' and the ending -less meaning 'without'. So a rootless person is like a plant with no roots — someone who has no fixed home or strong ties.