nameless
/ˈneɪmləs
/adjective
1Having no name or no known name: some pictures were taken by a nameless photographer the clinic was situated in a little nameless square off James Street...
- His name is a lie, and with this lie the reality of his world vanishes… Reality has become a confusion of thingless names and nameless things for him.
- Desperate for a title, a mutual friend suggested the name to an unenthusiastic nameless band.
- As for the dolls that didn't come with names, well, some remain nameless to this day.
1.1Deliberately not identified; anonymous: the director of an organization which shall remain nameless...
- So much so, in fact, that one of my teachers, who shall remain nameless to protect her identity, pulled me aside after class and told me she's having a dinner party on Saturday.
- I very much appreciate the support and friendship of the landowners of 3rd Unnamed Cave, who must remain nameless.
- Until recently, its investigators have been mostly nameless, the millions of words issuing from its government-issue red-brick offices mostly anonymous.
Synonyms
unnamed, unidentified, anonymous, incognito, unspecified, unacknowledged, uncredited;
unknown, unheard of, unsung, uncelebrated, inglorious, obscure;
untitled, undesignated, unlabelled, untagged
rare innominate
1.2 archaic (Of a child) illegitimate: his grandfather had been a nameless, parentless child...
- The memories are rosy at first, if a bit disconnected and tangential, and each tale includes memories told to the nameless child by his foster father, Mr Finney.
2(Especially of an emotion) not easy to describe; indefinable: a nameless yearning for transcendence...
- Her bending body evoked wordless memories of love and life, her supple arms gave meaning to nameless emotions, and her springing legs bore testament to perfection.
- I couldn't explain the momentary stillness inside of me, or the rush of nameless emotions that followed.
- Their eyes never broke away from their gaze, each mirroring those nameless emotions coursing through them.
Synonyms
unspeakable, unutterable, inexpressible, unmentionable, indescribable, abominable, horrible, dreadful, appalling, shocking, awful, terrible, frightful;
indefinable, vague, obscure, unspecified, unspecifiable
2.1Too horrific to be described: the myths talk about nameless horrors infesting our universe...
- Everything had a cult dedicated to it, from ancient mummies to nameless elder horrors.
- But in the next instant, the hair rises glacially on the back of his neck, his spine is seized with iron, his eyes open on emptiness, a nameless terror.
- Some nameless horror from the primordial depths.
Derivatives
namelessly
/ adverb ...- But while the ability to travel namelessly may be a prerogative we can sacrifice, what about the right to speak anonymously?
- The developers work namelessly to produce a piece of software that will make their employers wealthy.
- The cities have great swathes of villa land suburbia, quiet lanes often tree lined stretching namelessly on and on until they melt into unfinished desert building sites.
namelessness
/ noun ...- As they smile into the camera, they seem to be cheerfully willing their own namelessness, and become strange specters of themselves.
- Though she is a lauded professional, she can identify with the namelessness that shrouds historical women figures like Sally Hemings.
- The namelessness of the lover creates heightened particularity, at the same time giving his character the edge of the purely subjective.