oarlessness

O1A1R1L1E1S1S1N1E1S1S1

noun

Absence of oars.

Scrabble 11
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Meanings

nounoarlessness (uncountable)
  1. uncountableAbsence of oars.

    All that counts when Poe's gondolier loses his single oar is the idea of oarlessness.

    1989, Richard P. Blackmur, James T. Jones, Outsider at the Heart of Things: Essays, page 227
    1 more example

    Only dark birds know who let it rot over itself, mirror its oarlessness and the one thin seam that suddenly like a mouth opened to allow everything oceanic in.

    2002, Douglas Smith, Helsinki Drift: Travel Poems, page 10

Origin

From oarless + -ness.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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