Standard Lemma guide

jawless

adj · 2 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

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Lacking a jaw.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Examples

  • Jawless fishes, such as lampreys, often have large and sharp teeth.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adjective

Meaning 2

of animals having no jaw

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: jawed

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English jaw Proto-Indo-European *lewh1- Proto-Indo-European *lewHs-der. Proto-Germanic *leusaną Proto-Germanic *lausaz Proto-Germanic *-lausaz Proto-West Germanic *-laus Old English -lēas Middle English -les English -less English jawless From jaw + -less.

Across languages

Translations

4 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Dutch: kaakloos — lacking a jaw
  • German: kieferlos — lacking a jaw
  • Italian: senza mascella — lacking a jaw
  • Welsh: di-ên — lacking a jaw