Meanings
- uncountableThe property of being emotionless.
Despite their troubles, there is an emotionlessness about Lesser's characters -- you don't feel for them much.
2005 October 9, Lucy Ellmann, “'The Pagoda in the Garden': Are We Amused Yet?”, in The New York Times1 more example
She tells Dr. Sacks that she identifies with Data, an android on "Star Trek" whose emotionlessness belies a great curiosity and wistfulness about the human world.
1995 February 14, Michiko Kakutani, “BOOKS OF THE TIMES; Finding the Advantages In Some Mind Disorders”, in The New York Times
Synonyms & antonyms
nounapathy demonstrated by an absence of emotional reactions
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁éǵʰ
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁éǵʰs
- Proto-Italic*eks
- Latinex
- Latinex-
- Proto-Indo-European*m(y)ewh₁-
- Proto-Indo-European*m(y)owh₁éyeti
- Proto-Italic*moweō
- Latinmoveō
- Latinēmoveō
- Vulgar Latin*exmovēre
- Old Frenchesmovoir
- Middle Frenchesmouvoir
- Middle Frenchemotion
- Englishemotion
- Proto-Indo-European*lewh₁-
- Proto-Indo-European*lewHs-
- Proto-Germanic*leusaną
- Proto-Germanic*lausaz
- Englishemotionless
- Englishemotionlessness
From emotionless + -ness.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
German Emotionslosigkeit
- EmotionslosigkeitTranslations
Polish beznamiętność, bezuczuciowość
- beznamiętnośćTranslations
- bezuczuciowośćTranslations
Cite this entry
emotionlessness. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/emotionlessness
“emotionlessness.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/emotionlessness. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “emotionlessness,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/emotionlessness.
Source: emotionlessness on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.