tuneless

[ toon-lis, tyoon- ]

adjective

1. unmelodious; unmusical.
2. making or giving no music; silent:

   In the corner stood a tuneless old piano.

tuneless

/ ˈtjuːnlɪs /

adjective

1. having no melody or tune
2. poetic.
   not producing or able to produce music; silent

Derived Forms

• ˈtunelessly, adverb
• ˈtunelessness, noun

Other Words From

• tuneless·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of tuneless¹

First recorded in 1585–95; tune + -less

Example Sentences

She sat where he had left her, and was crooning again the weird tuneless dirge at which Marto had been appalled.

From Project Gutenberg

On thy voiceless shore The heroic lay is tuneless now—The heroic bosom beats no more!

From Project Gutenberg

Of a sudden the stillness of the night was broken into by a tuneless and discordant jangle of pealing bells.

From Project Gutenberg

Anything so helplessly tuneless as its present music I never heard, except mosquitoes and cicadas.

From Project Gutenberg

Its inflexible harshness and cacophany seemed like the voice of fate speaking out its tuneless perseverance in the night.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• bitter
• bleak
• grim
• hard
• rigid
• severe
• sharp
• strident