mindless

adjective

mind·​less ˈmīn(d)-ləs 

1

a

: marked by a lack of mind or consciousness

a mindless sleep

b(1)

: marked by or displaying no use of the powers of the intellect

mindless violence

(2)

: requiring little attention or thought

especially : not intellectually challenging or stimulating

mindless work

a mindless movie

2

: not mindful : heedless

mindless of the consequences

mindlessly adverb

mindlessness noun

Synonyms

• airheaded
• birdbrained
• bonehead
• boneheaded
• brain-dead
• brainless
• bubbleheaded
• chuckleheaded
• dense
• dim
• dim-witted
• doltish
• dopey
• dopy
• dorky [slang]
• dull
• dumb
• dunderheaded
• empty-headed
• fatuous
• gormless [chiefly British]
• half-witted
• knuckleheaded
• lamebrain
• lamebrained
• lunkheaded
• oafish
• obtuse
• opaque
• pinheaded
• senseless
• simple
• slow
• slow-witted
• soft
• softheaded
• stupid
• thick
• thick-witted
• thickheaded
• unintelligent
• unsmart
• vacuous
• weak-minded
• witless

Examples of mindless in a Sentence

The article was a mindless piece of nonsense.

The movie has been criticized for its mindless violence.

a mindless waste of time

He seemed to be completely mindless of the danger he was facing.

She was mindless of her appearance.

Recent Examples on the Web

Mindfulness techniques are powerful antidotes to mindless virtual excesses like immersive gaming, Internet surfing or streaming the vast television wasteland. —Bryan Robinson, Forbes, 6 Dec. 2024

Special teams coordinator Danny Crossman has eliminated almost all of the mindless penalties his units were committing earlier this season. —Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 23 Nov. 2024

For me, as much as this is a fun, nostalgic look back to a time that was mindless.... —EW.com, 31 Oct. 2024

There, Eno and his three male friends engage in the sort of mindless time-killing escapades familiar to any teen. —Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

mindless

adjective

mind·​less ˈmīn-(d)ləs 

1

a

: lacking the ability to think, feel, or respond

a mindless killer

b

: showing no use of the intelligence

mindless violence

2

: not mindful

mindlessly adverb

mindlessness noun