nameless

adjective

name·​less ˈnām-ləs 

1

: obscure, undistinguished

2

: not known by name : anonymous

3

: having no legal right to a name (as due to being born to parents not married to each other)

4

: not having been given a name : unnamed

5

: not marked with a name

a nameless grave

6

a

: incapable of precise description : indefinable

b

: too repulsive or distressing to describe

namelessly adverb

namelessness noun

Synonyms

• anonymous
• faceless
• incognito
• innominate
• unbaptized
• unchristened
• unidentified
• unnamed
• untitled

Examples of nameless in a Sentence

She left the hotel with a nameless man in a black jacket.

The source for my story prefers to remain nameless.

A top government official, who shall remain nameless, has expressed concern about the decision.

The men were buried there in nameless graves.

Recent Examples on the Web

The climax, in which Dwight and his crew beat a group of nameless Chinese immigrant thugs into submission after they’re used as cannon fodder by Cal Thresher to sabotage Dwight’s wind turbines, is more important to the plot and even uglier. —Sean T. Collins, Vulture, 13 Oct. 2024

The irony here is that Starks’ tracks are nameless just like many vaporwave artists are anonymous. —Ade D. Adeniji, WIRED, 17 Sep. 2024

In the novel, the factory workers are not glossed over as a nameless mass… Readers also get a glimpse of the workers’ daily existence and challenges such as housing, low wage, layoff, bad health, and debts—something uncommon in contemporary popular literature. —H.m.a. Leow, JSTOR Daily, 1 Nov. 2024

Harold Perrineau leads a solid cast of (mostly) likeable characters who have to survive these terrors and more, all while trying to piece together the mystery of the nameless town they’re trapped in. —Erik Kain, Forbes, 25 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

nameless

adjective

name·​less ˈnām-ləs 

1

: having no name

2

: not marked with a name

a nameless grave

3

: unknown entry 1, anonymous

a nameless hero

4

a

: impossible to describe

nameless fears

b

: too disgusting or disturbing to be described

nameless acts of cruelty