Adverbless

/əd'vɜrblɪs/ adjective

Definition

Lacking adverbs; a phrase or sentence that contains no adverbial words or modifiers.

Etymology

From adverb plus the suffix -less meaning 'without.' This is a modern English construction following the productive pattern of adding -less to create adjectives meaning the absence of something.

Kelly Says

Many of the best short sentences in literature are actually adverbless—think 'The cat sat on the mat'—which shows that you don't need adverbs to write powerfully, even though adverbs feel like they should be essential.

Related Words

Explore More Words

Get the Word Orb API

Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.