toothlessly
1
7.0
- adverb
- /ˈtuːθləsli/
- Or couldn't explain anything, only pointed to his heaped family, which was lying around him in a state of collapse, pointed as the ultimate plea at the pregnant woman with the infant, the old woman who was out of her mind and was mumbling toothlessly, and the little boy knew nothing but was congealed in terror, staring open-mouthed.
- grin toothlessly
Examples
-
As a state that held on toothlessly to Jessie Helms, we have come a long way, baby, and we will be back.
Blog text (14) -
Grandma is toothlessly munching her soft vegetables, but those and her wrinkles are the only soft things about her.
Fiction book (1994) -
The River Stour rises and sucks toothlessly at the trunks of the willows.
Fiction book (1994) -
She smiled toothlessly, her gums clearly showing as she laughed at the joke.
-
He tried to argue his point toothlessly, lacking the energy to persuade anyone.
-
The committee's suggestions were presented toothlessly, failing to inspire any real change.
Synonyms
4
3.5
In a way that does not help or make any difference
2
6.0
In a way that does not succeed
1
8.0
Without success when someone tries to do something
Antonyms
How Forceful
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Toothlessly comes from tooth plus the ending -less meaning 'without' and -ly to make it say how something is done. Like a person without teeth cannot 'bite', something done 'toothlessly' has no 'bite', so it is weak or without power.