Standard Lemma guide

toothless

adj · 4 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.

  • General-American: /ˈtuθləs/
  • General-American: /ˈtuθlɪs/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: T UW1 TH L AH0 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Having no teeth.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • a toothless old man

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: edentate, edentulous, teethless

Antonyms: dentate, dentiferous, dentigerous, dentulous, toothed, toothy

2

adj

Meaning 2

Weak; having no ability to enforce something.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively

Examples

  • The treaty was toothless because of the lack of participation from the undersigned.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: tame, anemic, breakable, broken-down, damaged, debilitated, decrepit, delicate, dickless, effete, enervated, enfeebled, exhausted, faint, feeble, flimsy, fragile, frail, harmed, hurt, impaired, impotent, infirm, injured, languid, low, powerless, prostrated, prostrate, puny, raddled, resistless, sapped, slightsoft, softened, susceptible, tender, tired, torpid, unresistant, vincible, vulnerable, wasted, weak, weakened, weary, weedy, wimpy, worn out, yielding

Antonyms: none provided

3

adjective

Meaning 3

lacking teeth

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • most birds are toothless
  • a toothless old crone

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: toothed

4

adjective satellite

Meaning 4

lacking necessary force for effectiveness

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a toothless piece of legislation

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Middle English tothles, from Old English tōþlēas, from Proto-Germanic *tanþlausaz (“toothless”), equivalent to tooth + -less. Cognate with Dutch tandeloos (“toothless”), German Low German tannlos (“toothless”), German zahnlos (“toothless”), Danish tandløs (“toothless”), Swedish tandlös (“toothless”), Icelandic tannlaus (“toothless”).

Across languages

Translations

70 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Central Bikol: tipo — Having no teeth
  • Bulgarian: беззъб (bezzǎb) — Having no teeth
  • Catalan: esqueixalat — Having no teeth
  • Catalan: desdentat — Having no teeth
  • Czech: bezzubý — Having no teeth
  • Danish: tandløs — Having no teeth
  • Dutch: tandloos — Having no teeth
  • Finnish: hampaaton — Having no teeth
  • French: édenté — Having no teeth
  • Galician: desdentado — Having no teeth
  • Galician: fanado — Having no teeth
  • German: zahnlos — Having no teeth
  • Greek: άδοντος (ádontos) — Having no teeth
  • Greek: φαφούτης (fafoútis) — Having no teeth
  • Greek: ξεδοντιάρης (xedontiáris) — Having no teeth
  • Ancient Greek: νωδός (nōdós) — Having no teeth
  • Hindi: पोपला (poplā) — Having no teeth
  • Hungarian: fogatlan — Having no teeth
  • Icelandic: tannlaus — Having no teeth
  • Inuktitut: ᑭᒍᑎᖃᖏᑦᑐᖅ (kicotiqangittoq) — Having no teeth
  • Irish: carballach — Having no teeth
  • Irish: mantach — Having no teeth
  • Italian: sdentato — Having no teeth
  • Kazakh: тіссіз (tıssız) — Having no teeth
  • Latin: ēdentulus — Having no teeth
  • Latvian: bezzobains — Having no teeth
  • Lithuanian: bedantis — Having no teeth
  • Macedonian: беззаб (bezzab) — Having no teeth
  • Macedonian: беззабен (bezzaben) — Having no teeth
  • Māori: niho more — Having no teeth
  • Māori: niho ngore — Having no teeth
  • Middle English: tothles — Having no teeth
  • Norwegian Bokmål: tannløs — Having no teeth
  • Norwegian Bokmål: tannlaus — Having no teeth
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: tannlaus — Having no teeth
  • Persian: بیدندان (bīdandān) — Having no teeth
  • Pohnpeian: aupwahpw — Having no teeth
  • Polish: bezzębny — Having no teeth
  • Polish: bezzęby — Having no teeth
  • Portuguese: banguelo — Having no teeth
  • Portuguese: desdentado — Having no teeth
  • Romanian: știrb — Having no teeth
  • Romanian: edentat — Having no teeth
  • Russian: беззу́бый (bezzúbyj) — Having no teeth
  • Scots: tuithless — Having no teeth
  • Spanish: desdentado — Having no teeth
  • Spanish: edéntulo — Having no teeth
  • Spanish: dijusto — Having no teeth
  • Spanish: sholco — Having no teeth
  • Spanish: janiche — Having no teeth
  • Spanish: mellado — Having no teeth
  • Spanish: janicho — Having no teeth
  • Swedish: tandlös — Having no teeth
  • Tagalog: ngubngob — Having no teeth
  • Turkish: dişsiz — Having no teeth
  • Ukrainian: беззу́бий (bezzúbyj) — Having no teeth
  • Vietnamese: móm — Having no teeth
  • Bulgarian: беззъб (bezzǎb) — Being weak
  • Czech: bezzubý — Being weak
  • Finnish: hampaaton — Being weak
  • Georgian: უკბილო (uḳbilo) — Being weak
  • Greek: ξεδοντιάρης (xedontiáris) — Being weak
  • Italian: inefficace — Being weak
  • Italian: impotente — Being weak
  • Norwegian Bokmål: tannløs — Being weak
  • Norwegian Bokmål: tannlaus — Being weak
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: tannlaus — Being weak
  • Russian: беззу́бый (bezzúbyj) — Being weak
  • Swedish: tandlös — Being weak
  • Ukrainian: беззу́бий (bezzúbyj) — Being weak