motherless

IPA/ˈmʌðələs/
KK[mˈʌðɚlɪs]IPA/ˈmʌðərləs/

motherless — adjective

  • motherlesspositive
  • more motherlesscomparative
  • most motherlesssuperlative

1. describes a child or young animal whose mother has died or is not present in the

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

describes a child or young animal whose mother has died or is not present in their everyday life

Example

The motherless calf stayed close to the farmer, looking for warmth.

attributive: motherless + [noun]

Aiko grew up motherless after her mother passed away when she was two.

predicative: grew up motherless

Common collocations
  • motherless child / children
  • motherless baby / babies
  • motherless calf / lamb / pup
  • grew up motherless
  • left motherless
  • born motherless
Synonyms
  • orphaned

    broader meaning — can refer to losing one or both parents; more common in everyday use

Usage Note

Commonly used before a noun (attributive) or after a linking verb (predicative). Most frequent in written contexts such as news reports, charity appeals, and storytelling.

Common Mistakes

The child is a motherless.
The child is motherless.
motherless is an adjective, not a noun, so it does not take an article.
She is motherless of a mother.
She is motherless.
motherless already means 'without a mother'; adding 'of a mother' is redundant.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

While motherless, orphaned, and parentless all describe the absence of a parent, they differ in scope. Motherless specifically refers to having no mother (the mother has died or is absent), whereas orphaned typically means both parents have died or the child has lost all legal guardians. Orphaned is far more common in everyday English and carries a stronger emotional weight. Parentless is a broader, more neutral term that covers the lack of either or both parents. For example, a child whose father has died but whose mother is alive would be described as 'fatherless,' not 'orphaned' or 'motherless.' A child whose both parents died in an accident would most naturally be called 'orphaned.'

motherless ↗orphaned ↗parentless

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • grew up motherless
  • born motherless
  • left motherless

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

Motherless comes from Old English mōdorlēas, a compound of mōdor (mother) and the suffix -lēas (without, lacking, —less). The word has been in continuous use since at least the 1100s, retaining its straightforward meaning of 'without a mother' across centuries of English.