adj ·3 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective

1. 1
   Lacking any form of defense; vulnerable; open to attack.

   "Her look, her attitude, her words were eloquent of the age-old appeal of defenseless woman to her natural protector—man."

Adjective

1. 1
   lacking weapons for self-defense wordnet
2. 2
   having no protecting or concealing cover wordnet
3. 3
   lacking protection or support wordnet

Adverb

1. 1
   without defense wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

unprotectedabandonedaidlessbare handedbare-handeddefenceless

Example

More examples

"The actions she took were too careless, and she was left defenseless."

Etymology

From defense + -less.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.