answerlessadj.
/ˈɑːnsələs/, /ˈansələs/, U.S. /ˈænsərləs/ 1. Having received, or receiving, no answer; that has not been answered.
ΚΠ
1477 J. Pympe in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 416 By-cause that..iij long letterys..be answereles I wote not whethyr that the length of matyr acvmbred yow.
1612 King James I Let. in J. O. Halliwell Lett. Kings Eng. (1846) (modernized text) II. 120 If I had had any particular occasion worthy the troubling of you with,..your letters should not have been answerless.
1842 R. Bigsby Misc. Poems & Ess. 127 The armoury—the hall In vain are searched;—his anxious call Still answerless remained.
1897 Cent. Dict. I. 231/3 Answerless prayers.
1906 J. W. Riley Let. in E. J. Van Allen James Whitcomb Riley (1999) vii. 255 Your recent and good letter has been answerless because of illness.
1970 E. Weinberger tr. O. Paz Eagle Or Sun? (1976) 103 I wrote answerless messages, barely signed before they were destroyed.
2004 K. D. Walker In Timely Manner xliii. 173 After a quick shower and another answerless call to Daisley, he decided to follow the last advice he gave Walter and try to get some rest.
2. (a) Having no answer to give; unable to answer. (b) That is, or contains, no answer.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > answer > [adjective] > lacking an answer
answerless1533
responselessa1809
irresponsive1846
1533 T. More Debellacyon Salem & Bizance ii. xv. f. lv And then as you se this good man had ben quyte answerelesse.
1586 Queen Elizabeth I in W. Guthrie Gen. Hist. Scotl. (1768) (modernized text) VIII. 203 If I should say unto you [sc. Mary Queen of Scots], that I mean not to grant your petition, by my faith I should say unto you more than, perhaps, I mean. And if I should say unto you, that I mean to grant your petition, I should then tell you more than is fit for you to know. And thus I must deliver you an answer answerless.
1605 True Chron. Hist. King Leir sig. B1v Here is an answere answerlesse indeed: Were you my daughter, I should scarcely brooke it.
1694 T. Dawes Anat. Atheisme 4 Their Errors I so fully shall refute That I shall leave them answerless and mute.
1825 Museum Foreign Lit. & Sci. 6 187 The laughing cheek's warm sunny glow Is dim and pale! The bright eye answerless!
1847 A. Steinmetz Jesuit in Family iii. iv. 239 ‘Oh, when will you—when will you bless my heart with that Yes which will add tenfold intensity to my love?’... Leonard gazed on the answerless maiden.
1920 D. Greenhood in W. S. Braithwaite Anthol. Mag. Verse (1921) 63 But the desert is answerless.
2011 J. R. Ward Lover Unleashed xii He didn't want a reply... He was just looking up at the night sky with its washed-out stars and vast, answerless expanse hoping for some strength.
3. Having no possible answer, unanswerable.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > answer > [adjective] > capable of being solved or answered > not
unrepliable1596
unanswerable1613
irrepliable1632
answerless1633
1633 ‘T. Duresme’ in Bp. T. Morton Discharge Five Imputations sig. B4 The Lords Reply hath already inveigled Lords and Ladies so farre, as to thinke his Exceptions answerlesse.
1676 E. Hutchinson Treat. conc. Covenant 56 Whatever he says, or what hard measure he may give me, Truth will remain always answerless and unconquered.
1823 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto VI lxiii. 32 Our ultimate existence? what's our present? Are questions answerless.
1870 C. H. Spurgeon Treasury of David I. Ps. xviii. 19 Why Jehovah should delight in us is an answerless question.
1958 K. Amis Let. 21 Jan. (2000) 525 All we really have in common is a desire to write sensibly, without emotional hoo-ha..; there may be obscurities but no answerless riddles.
1991 G. Ehrlich Islands, Universe, Home iv. 39 Summer's heat is a koan, an answerless question.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2016; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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