actless

A1C3T1L1E1S1S1
US/ˈæktləs/

adjective

Without action or spirit; inactive; without acts

OriginProto-Germanic *lausaz ← Proto-Indo-European *lewHs- ← English act →
Scrabble 9
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Meanings

adjectiveactless (not comparable)
  1. not comparableWithout action or spirit; inactive; without acts

    I felt a certain shallow contempt for the emotionalism, the unreasoning bitterness and the actless anger of the soapbox radicals.

    1951, J. Saunders Redding, On Being Negro in America, essay

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂eǵ-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂éǵeti
  3. Proto-Italic*agō
  4. Latinagō
  5. Latināctus
  6. Latinācta
  7. Old Frenchact
  8. Middle Englishacte
  9. Englishact
  10. Proto-Indo-European*lewh₁-
  11. Proto-Indo-European*lewHs-
  12. Proto-Germanic*leusaną
  13. Proto-Germanic*lausaz
  14. Englishactless

From act + -less.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with actless

tactless
All rhymes →

Anagrams

catless
Cite this entry
APA

actless. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/actless

MLA

“actless.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/actless. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “actless,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/actless.

Source: actless on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.