Meanings
alternative obsolete nameles
- not comparableWhose name is unknown; unidentified or obscured.
The culprits shall remain nameless here, as some names have been changed to protect the guilty; just don't let it happen again.
1 more example
Victims of rug pulls are often left with little recourse against nameless thieves.
2022 March 2, David Yaffe-Bellany, “Millions for Crypto Start-Ups, No Real Names Necessary”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 03 Mar 2022Synonyms: anonymous, deidentified, arcane, cryptic, enigmatic, ill-defined, inenubilable, mysterial
- not comparableUnable to be described or expressed.
a nameless fear
2 more examples
a nameless unease
Minute grew into minute, and still there was no sign of life, nor did the curtain move; but I felt the gaze of the unknown being sinking through and through me, and filling me with a nameless terror, till the perspiration stood in beads upon my brow.
1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, “The Plain of Kôr”, in She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC, page 126Synonyms: indescribable, indefinable, undescribable, indicible, inexpressible, untold, ineffable, inenarrable
- datednot comparableIllegitimate.
He said that he would cherish her until the grave, and that he would love her nameless son as though he were his own flesh.
1953, James Baldwin, “Elizabeth’s Prayer”, in Go Tell It on the Mountain, New York, N.Y.: Dell Publishing Co., published October 1970, →OCLC, part 2 (The Prayers of the Saints), page 175Synonyms: illegitimate, base, baseborn, base born, bastardly, extramarital, misbegotten, natural
- not comparableNot well-known; not having made a name for oneself.
Its upland-lawns, and cliffs with foliage hung, Its wizard-stream, nor nameless, nor unsung:
1890, Samuel Rogers, “An Epistle to a Friend”, in Poems by Samuel Rogers, London: George Routledge and Sons, page 741 more example
Nameless and fameless, but tinged with the sadness Rising from organs by seraph hands played.
1886, Horace Eaton Walker, “Harp of my Country”, in The Lady of Dardale and Other Poems, Manchester, N.H.: Browne & Rowe, page 181Synonyms: fameless, renownless, unsung, fameless, gloriless, inglorious, nonfamous, obscure
alternative obsolete nameles
- obsoleteVulva.
Hérison, m. The female pudendum; ‘the nameless’.
1896, John Stephen Farmer, “Hérison”, in Vocabula Amatoria, page 156Synonyms: name-it-not, axe wound, badly packed kebab, bearded clam, beaver, beef curtains, burger, chocha
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveNot having a name.
adjectiveWhose name is unknown; unidentified or obscured.
adjectiveUnable to be described or expressed.
adjectiveIllegitimate.
adjectiveNot well-known; not having made a name for oneself.
nounVulva.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivebeing or having an unknown or unnamed source
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Englishnameles
- Englishnameless
From Middle English nameles, equivalent to name + -less. Cognate with Dutch naamloos (“nameless”), German namenlos (“nameless”), Danish navnløs (“nameless”), Swedish namnlös (“nameless”), Icelandic nafnlaus (“nameless, anonymous”).
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ἀνώνυμος
- ἀνώνυμος (anṓnumos)having no name
Arabic دُونَ ٱسْمٍ
- دُونَ ٱسْمٍ (dūna smin)having no name
Bengali নামহীন, অনামা
- নামহীন (namohin)having no name
- অনামা (onama)having no name
Bulgarian бези́менен
- бези́менен (bezímenen)having no name
Catalan sense nom, innominat
- sense nomhaving no name
- innominathaving no name
Chinese Mandarin 無名 /无名
- 無名 /无名 (wúmíng)having no name
Czech nepojmenovaný, bezejmenný
- nepojmenovanýhaving no name
- bezejmennýhaving no name
Danish navnløs
- navnløshaving no name
Dutch naamloos
- naamlooshaving no name
Esperanto nenomita, sennoma
- nenomitahaving no name
- sennomahaving no name
Finnish nimetön
- nimetönhaving no name
French sans nom, innommé
- sans nomhaving no name
- innomméhaving no name
- innoméhaving no name
German namenlos
- namenloshaving no name
Greek χωρίς όνομα
- χωρίς όνομα (chorís ónoma)having no name
Hebrew לְלֹא שֵׁם, בְּעִלּוּם שֵׁם
- לְלֹא שֵׁם (leló shem)having no name
- בְּעִלּוּם שֵׁם (be-ilúm shem)having no name
- אָנוֹנִימִיhaving no name
Hindi अनाम, अनामक
- अनाम (anām)having no name
- अनामक (anāmak)having no name
Hungarian névtelen
- névtelenhaving no name
Icelandic nafnlaus, óþekktur
- nafnlaushaving no name
- óþekkturhaving no name
Italian senza nome, innominato
- senza nomehaving no name
- innominatohaving no name
Japanese 名無し, 無名の
- 名無し (nanashi)having no name
- 無名の (mumei no)having no name
Norwegian Bokmål navnløs
- navnløshaving no name
Polish bezimienny
- bezimiennyhaving no name
Portuguese sem nome
- sem nomehaving no name
Russian безымя́нный
- безымя́нный (bezymjánnyj)having no name
Slovak bezmenný
- bezmennýhaving no name
Spanish sin nombre, innominado
- sin nombrehaving no name
- innominadohaving no name
Swedish namnlös
- namnlöshaving no name
Turkish adsız, isimsiz
- adsızhaving no name
- isimsizhaving no name
Ukrainian безіме́нний
- безіме́нний (beziménnyj)having no name
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
nameless. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nameless
“nameless.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nameless. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nameless,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nameless.
Source: nameless on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.