nameless
Americanadjective
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having no name.
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left unnamed.
a certain person who shall be nameless.
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anonymous.
a nameless source of information.
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incapable of being specified or described.
a nameless charm.
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too shocking or vile to be specified.
a nameless crime.
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having no legitimate paternal name, as a child born out of wedlock.
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unknown to fame; obscure.
a nameless poet; nameless defenders of the country.
adjective
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without a name; anonymous
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incapable of being named; indescribable
a nameless horror seized him
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too unpleasant or disturbing to be mentioned
nameless atrocities
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having no legal name; illegitimate
a nameless child
Usage
What does nameless mean? Nameless means having no name, as in Emily Dickensen’s poems are all nameless, so we refer to them by their first lines instead. Nameless also means anonymous, as in Journalists sometimes use nameless sources of information in order to get the details they need for their stories. You might use nameless to describe something incapable of being described, such as a nameless charm. Example: A nameless writer created one of the world’s most well-known proverbs.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of nameless
Middle English word dating back to 1275–1325; see origin at name, -less
Explanation
Someone or something that has no name is nameless. You can also describe someone as nameless when you choose not to identify them or reveal their name publicly. A nameless source for a newspaper article is anonymous — in other words, they have a name but it's being kept private. When you're talking about someone whose identity you won't reveal, you can refer to them as "someone who shall remain nameless." A nameless fear, on the other hand, is one that's so scary it can't be captured in words or given a name.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The shop which found it wished to remain nameless, but gallery director Tommy Zyw said it was the largest single sale in the charity's history and would help it support medical research.
From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026
Despite lying beneath unmarked stones, these young people were not nameless.
From Slate • Mar. 30, 2026
When a nameless secretary drops a sheaf of papers, Kornev’s response to help is instinctive, yet we cringe at the careless faux pas he commits in this unfeeling society.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026
An editor who shall remain nameless told me today that no one seemed to care about the latest consumer price index print—that it was stale data in the wake of rising oil prices.
From Barron's • Mar. 11, 2026
Once I thought I saw Nathaniel, but it was another nameless orderly.
From "Fever 1793" by Laurie Halse Anderson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
