Meanings
comparative more soulless · superlative most soulless
- As if without a soul; insensitive, unfeeling.
“Done?” he said, with a soulless sneer in the word.
1891, Thomas Hardy, chapter XLVI, in Tess of the d’Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: James R[ipley] Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., […], →OCLC5 more examples
Go backe I warrant thee: but Ile catch thine eyes / Though they had wings. Slaue, Soule-leſſe, Villain, Dog. / O rarely baſe!
c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii], page 366Oh! who young Leila's glance could read / And keep that portion of his creed / Which saith, that woman is but dust, / A soulless toy for tyrant's lust?
1813, Lord Byron, The Giaour, a Fragment of a Turkish Tale, London: […] T[homas] Davison, […], for John Murray, […], →OCLC, page 12Number One had never before seen a woman, but the sight of this one awoke in the unplumbed depths of his soulless breast a great desire to lay his hands upon her.
1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, chapter 3, in The Monster Men, published 1929But I do believe there’s another path—one that fuels growth and innovation, and offers the clearest route to individual opportunity and national success. It does not require succumbing to a soulless capitalism that benefits only the few, but rather recognizes that economies are more successful when we close the gap between rich and poor, and growth is broadly based.
2016 September 20, Barack Obama, Remarks at the United Nations General Assembly, archived from the original on 05 Jul 2022St Pancras is no longer soulless. The NRA accolade says it all: its soul is back where it truly belongs!
2022 November 30, Nick Brodrick, “Pride and innovation shine at St Pancras”, in RAIL, number 971, page 69
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivelacking sensitivity or the capacity for deep feeling
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Englishsoulelez
- Englishsoulless
From Middle English soulelez; equivalent to soul + -less. Compare Old English sāwollēas; the Middle English word likely is a re-formation.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian бездушен
- бездушен (bezdušen)as if without a soul
Danish sjælløs
- sjælløsas if without a soul
Dutch zielloos
- zielloosas if without a soul
Esperanto senanima
- senanimaas if without a soul
Finnish sieluton
- sielutonas if without a soul
German seelenlos, entseelt
- seelenlosas if without a soul
- entseeltas if without a soul
Hungarian lelketlen, lélektelen
- lelketlenas if without a soul
- lélektelenas if without a soul
Korean 영혼이없는
- 영혼이없는 (yeonghonieomneun)as if without a soul
Lithuanian bedvasis
- bedvasisas if without a soul
Norwegian Bokmål sjelløs
- sjelløsas if without a soul
Polish bezduszny
- bezdusznyas if without a soul
Portuguese desalmado
- desalmadoas if without a soul
Russian безду́шный
- безду́шный (bezdúšnyj)as if without a soul
Spanish desalmado, desangelado
- desalmadoas if without a soul
- desangeladoas if without a soul
Swedish själlös
- själlösas if without a soul
Vietnamese vô hồn
- vô hồnas if without a soul
Rhymes & wordplay
Sounds the same
Cite this entry
soulless. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/soulless
“soulless.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/soulless. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “soulless,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/soulless.
Source: soulless on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.