soulless

English

Etymology

From Middle English soulelez; equivalent to soul +‎ -less. Compare Old English sāwllēas, sāwullēas; the Middle English word likely is a re-formation.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /səʊl.ləs/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /soʊl.ləs/, [soʊɫ.ləs]

Adjective

soulless (comparative more soulless, superlative most soulless)

1. As if without a soul; insensitive, unfeeling.
   • c. 1606–1607, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii], page 366:

     Go backe I warrant thee: but Ile catch thine eyes / Though they had wings. Slaue, Soule-leſſe, Villain, Dog. / O rarely baſe!

   • 1813, Lord Byron, The Giaour, a Fragment of a Turkish Tale, London: […] T[homas] Davison, […], for John Murray, […], →OCLC, page 12:

     Oh! who young Leila's glance could read / And keep that portion of his creed / Which saith, that woman is but dust, / A soulless toy for tyrant's lust?

   • 1891, Thomas Hardy, chapter XLVI, in Tess of the d’Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented […], volumes (please specify |volume=I to III), London: James R[ipley] Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., […], →OCLC:

     “Done?” he said, with a soulless sneer in the word.

   • 1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, chapter 3, in The Monster Men‎^[1], published 1929:

     Number One had never before seen a woman, but the sight of this one awoke in the unplumbed depths of his soulless breast a great desire to lay his hands upon her.

   • 2016 September 20, Barack Obama, Remarks at the United Nations General Assembly‎^[2]:

     But I do believe there’s another path—one that fuels growth and innovation, and offers the clearest route to individual opportunity and national success. It does not require succumbing to a soulless capitalism that benefits only the few, but rather recognizes that economies are more successful when we close the gap between rich and poor, and growth is broadly based.

   • 2022 November 30, Nick Brodrick, “Pride and innovation shine at St Pancras”, in RAIL, number 971, page 69:

     St Pancras is no longer soulless. The NRA accolade says it all: its soul is back where it truly belongs!

Derived terms

• soullessly
• soullessness

Translations

as if without a soul

• Bulgarian: бездушен (bg) (bezdušen)
• Danish: sjælløs
• Dutch: zielloos (nl)
• Esperanto: senanima
• Finnish: sieluton (fi)
• German: seelenlos (de), entseelt
• Hungarian: lelketlen (hu)
• Korean: 영혼이없는 (yeonghonieomneun)
• Lithuanian: bedvasis
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: sjelløs

  Nynorsk: sjellaus

• Old English: sāwollēas
• Polish: bezduszny (pl)
• Portuguese: desalmado (pt) m
• Russian: безду́шный (ru) (bezdúšnyj)
• Spanish: desalmado (es), desangelado
• Swedish: själlös (sv)
• Vietnamese: vô hồn