meaninglessness
/ˈmiːnɪŋləsnəs/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈmiːnɪŋləsnəs/ (ame, ipa)
meaninglessness — noun
1. the quality of lacking any understandable sense or message, so that something ca
the quality of lacking any understandable sense or message, so that something cannot be interpreted or understood by the mind
The ancient symbols on the tablet had faded into complete meaninglessness over centuries.
collocation: complete meaninglessness
Elena stared at the garbled text and felt frustrated by its total meaninglessness.
collocation: total meaninglessness (of text/speech)
Without the key to decode them, the messages remained pure meaninglessness.
Yumi found the poem beautiful despite its apparent meaninglessness on first reading.
The toddler's string of sounds struck the visitors as meaninglessness, but her mother understood each one.
- incomprehensibility
a more formal alternative that emphasises the inability to be understood rather than the lack of meaning itself
- nonsense
more concrete and everyday; often refers to spoken or written words that are clearly silly or false
- unintelligibility
focuses on the quality of being impossible to understand, often due to damage, noise, or poor quality
- meaningfulness
the quality of having clear, understandable meaning
- clarity
the quality of being easy to understand, especially of speech or writing
用法筆記
Unlike sense 2 (NO PURPOSE), this sense is about communication and understanding — a word, message, symbol, or sound that carries no recognizable meaning. Frequently used with words like 'complete,' 'total,' or 'pure.'
常見錯誤
2. the feeling or condition of having no importance, value, or purpose in life; a s
the feeling or condition of having no importance, value, or purpose in life; a sense that actions and efforts do not matter
After retiring, Kwame struggled with a deep sense of meaninglessness without his daily work routine.
collocation: sense of meaninglessness
The philosopher argued that meaninglessness arises when people lose connection to their community.
Volunteering at the animal shelter helped Sofia push past her feeling of meaninglessness.
Arjun asked himself hard questions about the meaninglessness of chasing wealth alone.
The long winter months in the small town deepened everyone's sense of meaninglessness.
- pointlessness
stresses that an action has no goal worth achieving; more concrete than meaninglessness
- futility
emphasises that effort will produce no result, regardless of intention
- emptiness
focuses on the hollow emotional experience of lack, without the philosophical weight of meaninglessness
- purposelessness
a straightforward alternative that highlights the absence of a goal or direction
- meaningfulness
the quality of having purpose and significance in life or work
- significance
the quality of being important or having a noticeable effect
- purpose
the reason for which something is done or created; a sense of direction
用法筆記
This sense describes an emotional or philosophical condition, not a quality of language. Distinguish from sense 1 (NO MEANING), which relates to words, messages, or symbols. Often appears in the phrases 'sense of meaninglessness' and 'feeling of meaninglessness.'