actless

English

Etymology

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ-
Proto-Indo-European *-eti
Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti
Proto-Italic *agō
Latin agō
Proto-Indo-European *-tós
Proto-Italic *-tos
Latin -tus
Latin āctus
Latin ācta
Old French actbor.
Middle English acte
English act
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 actless

    From act + -less.

    Pronunciation

    • (US) IPA(key): /ˈæktləs/
    • Rhymes: -æktləs

    Adjective

    actless (not comparable)

    1. Without action or spirit; inactive; without acts
      • 1951, J. Saunders Redding, On Being Negro in America‎[1], essay:
        I felt a certain shallow contempt for the emotionalism, the unreasoning bitterness and the actless anger of the soapbox radicals.

    Derived terms

    Anagrams

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