adj · 7 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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/ˈɡɹeɪsləs/
UK:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -eɪsləs
CMU ARPABET:G R EY1 S L AH0 S
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
adj
Meaning 1
Without grace.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
1995, Susan Sontag, "The Art of Fiction No. 143," Interview with Edward Hirsch published in The Paris Review, No. 137, Winter, 1995, p. 7, [Hirsch:] Do you mind being called an intellectual? [Sontag:] Well, one never likes to be called anything. [...] I suppose there will always be a presumption of graceless oddity—especially if one is a woman.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
adj
Meaning 2
Lacking gracefulness.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
adj
Meaning 3
Without the grace of God.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
adj
Meaning 4
Unfortunate.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: archaic
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
adjective satellite
Meaning 5
lacking social polish
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
too gauche to leave the room when the conversation became intimate
their excellent manners always made me feel gauche
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: gauche, unpolished
Antonyms: none provided
6
adjective satellite
Meaning 6
lacking grace; clumsy- Sir Walter Scott
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
a graceless production of the play
his stature low...his bearing ungraceful
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: ungraceful
Antonyms: none provided
7
adjective satellite
Meaning 7
lacking graciousness
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
a totally graceless hostess
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: unpleasing
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
From Middle English graceles; equivalent to grace + -less.
