bloodless

[ bluhd-lis ]

adjective

1. without blood:

   bloodless surgery.

2. very pale:

   a bloodless face.

3. free from bloodshed; accomplished without bloodshed:

   a bloodless victory; a bloodless coup.

4. spiritless; without vigor, zest, or energy:

   a dull, insipid, bloodless young man.

5. without emotion or feeling; cold-hearted:

   bloodless data.

bloodless

/ ˈblʌdlɪs /

adjective

1. without blood
2. conducted without violence (esp in the phrase bloodless revolution )
3. anaemic-looking; pale
4. lacking vitality; lifeless
5. lacking in emotion; cold; unfeeling

Derived Forms

• ˈbloodlessness, noun
• ˈbloodlessly, adverb

Other Words From

• bloodless·ly adverb
• bloodless·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of bloodless¹

1175–1225; Middle English blodles, Old English blōdlēas. See blood, -less

Example Sentences

Russia could ultimately outmatch Ukraine’s military, but it would not be a bloodless fight.

From Vox

The remarkable thing about the Taliban advance is that it has been largely bloodless.

From Time

Tunisia, after all, has a history of such bloodless takeovers.

From Ozy

It’s so bloodless I hesitate to advise reconciling — for their sakes.

From Washington Post

He seems fleshless, bloodless; he might almost be a black man's parody of how a clean-cut white man moves.

From The Daily Beast

At which point it becomes clear that we have entered a minimalist, bloodless horror movie.

From The Daily Beast

Then I felt an arm upon my shoulder, and Boris turned a bloodless face to mine.

From The Daily Beast

His idea was to become modern, efficient and bloodless by using lethal injection.

From The Daily Beast

Winningly, though, Weaver was hardly some bloodless accountant.

From The Daily Beast

Her white face looked ethereal in the moonlight, and her bloodless lips were quivering with returning life.

From Project Gutenberg

The baron's pallid face looked more bloodless, his accent was fiercer, and his countenance more ruffianly as he uttered all this.

From Project Gutenberg

Tremulously he drew the bow across the middle string, his bloodless fingers moving slowly up and down.

From Project Gutenberg

She traced her sin in its shrunken face, its thread-like limbs, its sick nerves and bloodless veins.

From Project Gutenberg

So he went on after the bloodless thing that had escaped; and in the way he met the appearance of his 285 mother, and she wept.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• unemotional