headless

H4E1A1D2L1E1S1S1
/ˈhɛdləs/

adjective

Synonym of decapitated.

“headless invertebrates”

Similar
beheadeddeheadeddecapitatedunheadedleaderlessacephalousbrainlessunintelligent
Opposite
headed
OriginMiddle English heedles ← Old English hēafodlēas →
Less commonScrabble 12
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Meanings

adjectiveheadless (not comparable)
  1. Without a head (body part).
    1. not comparableSynonym of decapitated.

      How did the headless horseman see to chase Ichabod?

      Synonyms: beheaded, deheaded, decapitated

    2. not comparableNaturally having and needing no head.

      headless invertebrates

  2. not comparableWithout a head (hardware or device feature).

    a headless nail;   a headless set screw

    Synonyms: unheaded

  3. not comparableWithout leadership.

    The headless army blundered along after the death of their general, accomplishing nothing.

    1 more example

    His forsaken soldiers, being now a headless company, and no longer an army to be feared, obtained nevertheless a reasonable composition from the Carthaginians […]

    1614, Walter Ralegh [i.e., Walter Raleigh], The Historie of the World […], London: […] William Stansby for Walter Burre, […], →OCLC, (please specify |book=1 to 5)

    Synonyms: leaderless

  4. not comparablehuman sciencesNot having a head morpheme or word.
  5. not comparablecomputingRunning without a graphical user interface; running without any attached output device (e.g., monitor) or input device (e.g., keyboard, mouse).

    /redirect. Used for console redirection in headless servers.

    2003, William Boswell, Inside Windows Server 2003, Addison-Wesley, →ISBN, page 62
    2 more examples

    Routers typically run headless, without a keyboard or monitor.

    2007, Carla Schroder, Linux Networking Cookbook, O’Reilly Media, published 2008, →ISBN, page 47

    This is not unexpected for a Windows system running as a virtual machine or a headless server,[…]

    2010, Charles Bell et al., MySQL High Availability: Tools for Building Robust Data Centers, O'Reilly Media, →ISBN, page 278
  6. not comparableWithout a head of foam.
  7. not comparableobsoleteHeedless.

    1579, E. K. (Edward Kirke?), Notes on Spenser’s The Shepheardes Calender If any one will rashly blame such his choice of old and unwonted words, him may I more justly blame and condemn, either of witless headiness in judging, or of headless hardiness in condemning.

    1 more example

    THENOT: Cuddy, I wot thou kenſt little Good, / So vainly to advance thy headleſs Hood.

    1579, Immeritô [pseudonym; Edmund Spenser], The Shepheardes Calender: […], London: […] Hugh Singleton, […], →OCLC
  8. not comparableobsoleteengineeringRimless, not having a cartridge case rim (flange).

    A headless shell doesn't have a flange.

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveSynonym of decapitated.

Similar
beheadeddeheadeddecapitated

adjectiveWithout a head (hardware or device feature).

Similar
unheaded

adjectiveWithout leadership.

Similar
leaderless

More synonyms by meaning

adjectivenot having a head or formed without a head

Similar
acephalousbeheadeddecapitated
Opposite
headed

adjectivenot using intelligence

Similar
brainlessunintelligentstupid
Also see
acephalicacephalousbeheadedbrainlessdecapitatedstupidunheadedunintelligent

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Old Englishhēafodlēas“headless”
  2. Middle Englishheedles
  3. Englishheadless

From Middle English heedles, hevedles, from Old English hēafodlēas (“headless”), equivalent to head + -less. Cognate with Dutch hoofdloos (“headless”), Danish hovedløs (“headless”), Swedish huvudlös (“headless”), Icelandic höfuðlaus (“headless”). Piecewise doublet of chefless and chiefless.

More words from Middle English, Old English

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek ἀκέφαλος
  • ἀκέφαλος (aképhalos)without a head
Catalan acèfal
  • acèfalwithout a head
Chinese Mandarin 無頭的 /无头的
  • 無頭的 /无头的 (wútóu de)without a head
Czech bezhlavý
  • bezhlavýwithout a head
Esperanto senkapa
  • senkapawithout a head
Finnish päätön
  • päätönwithout a head
French sans tête, acéphale
  • sans têtewithout a head
  • acéphalewithout a head
  • décapitéwithout a head
German kopflos
  • kopfloswithout a head
Greek ακέφαλος
  • ακέφαλος (akéfalos)without a head
Lithuanian begalvis
  • begalviswithout a head
Polish bezgłowy
  • bezgłowywithout a head
Portuguese acéfalo
  • acéfalowithout a head
Russian безголо́вый, обезгла́вленный
  • безголо́вый (bezgolóvyj)without a head
  • обезгла́вленный (obezglávlennyj)without a head
Tamil தலை இல்லா
  • தலை இல்லா (talai illā)without a head
Turkish başsız
  • başsızwithout a head
Welsh pengoll, di-ben
  • pengollwithout a head
  • di-benwithout a head

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with headless

leadless
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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