Having no meaning, significance, or purpose; lacking sense or importance. Describes something that conveys no useful information or serves no valuable function.
Formed from 'meaning' (from Old English 'mænan' meaning 'to intend, signify') plus the suffix '-less' (meaning 'without'). The concept emerged as humans developed more sophisticated ways to evaluate significance and purpose in communication and action.
Philosophers have long debated whether anything can be truly meaningless, since even apparent nonsense can carry meaning about the speaker's state of mind or cultural context. The word itself creates a paradox: it meaningfully describes the absence of meaning.
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