clueless

adjective

clue·​less ˈklü-ləs 

1

: having or providing no clue

a clueless case for the police to solve

2

: completely or hopelessly bewildered, unaware, ignorant, or foolish

clueless about what they want

cluelessly adverb

I played dumb. I have arrived at a point in my life where I can perform this stunt with aplomb. "What do you mean?" I asked, as cluelessly as I knew how.

—Steve Friedman

cluelessness noun

Mowrey is also trying to make a deer hunter of Bentley, whose cluelessness as an outdoors-man is a rich source of amusement to his country-boy crony.

—Austin Murphy

Synonyms

• ignorant
• incognizant
• innocent
• insensible
• nescient
• oblivious
• unacquainted
• unaware
• unconscious
• uninformed
• unknowing
• unmindful
• unwitting

Examples of clueless in a Sentence

When it comes to computers, I'm clueless.

They were clueless about what to do.

Recent Examples on the Web

Meanwhile, Wai, who has a full-time job, proves typically clueless — grudgingly offering the barest of help with parenting and disparaging her desire to keep working. —Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 Oct. 2024

The chimp could be clueless and content; the dog could be wild with grief. —Kathryn Schulz, The New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2024

But YouTube execs are clueless to their own audience and don't know its value. —Jim Cramer, CNBC, 27 Oct. 2024

Neeson plays clueless police detective Frank Drebin Jr. in the fourth and final installment in the crime-spoof comedy franchise — slated for an August 2025 release — with Anderson as his love interest. —Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 25 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1743, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

clueless

adjective

clue·​less ˈklü-ləs 

: having or providing no clue