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 of clueless

• ignorant
• unaware
• oblivious

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

That setting quickly transforms into a punishment the seemingly clueless time traveler may never escape. —Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 28 Apr. 2026

The writers did some tightening by eliminating one significant character – the not-so-clueless grandfather played in the film by Barnard Hughes – whose absence requires the movie’s fondly remembered final words to go to another character, a switch that undercuts the joke more than a bit. —Greg Evans, Deadline, 26 Apr. 2026

Some of the funniest picture books began to mine humor from a narrator who was either determined to mislead the reader or downright clueless. —Elise Broach, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026

Then, 15 meters later, a clueless cameraman stepped onto lane 1 from the infield, oblivious to the approaching pack. —Scott M. Reid, Oc Register, 19 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1743, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for clueless

• shoeless
• viewless

Kids Definition

clueless

adjective

clue·​less ˈklü-ləs 

: having or providing no clue