nameless

adjective

name·​less ˈnām-ləs 

1

: obscure, undistinguished

2

: not known by name : anonymous

3

: having no legal right to a name (as due to being born to parents not married to each other)

4

: not having been given a name : unnamed

5

: not marked with a name

a nameless grave

6

a

: incapable of precise description : indefinable

b

: too repulsive or distressing to describe

namelessly adverb

namelessness noun

Synonyms of nameless

• unnamed
• unidentified
• anonymous

Examples of nameless in a Sentence

She left the hotel with a nameless man in a black jacket.

The source for my story prefers to remain nameless.

A top government official, who shall remain nameless, has expressed concern about the decision.

The men were buried there in nameless graves.

Recent Examples on the Web

And Sylvie, who still gazes with utmost tenderness at a black-and-white photograph, taken during her time abroad, of a nameless wailing Russian child, has permanently abandoned her own daughter by refusing to visit her. —James Wood, New Yorker, 4 May 2026

The script is usually written in a nameless scrawl. —John Romano, The Orlando Sentinel, 2 May 2026

In the same year Rudolph was killed, a nameless woman was discovered down an embankment near a Tiburon fire station. —Annie Vainshtein, San Francisco Chronicle, 31 Mar. 2026

There may be a creative ceiling to watching scores of nameless inmates get inventively eviscerated, but thanks to its 11-minute segments, the ultraviolent comedy flies by. —Eric Vilas-Boas, Vulture, 18 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for nameless

• aimless
• blameless
• shameless

Kids Definition

nameless

adjective

name·​less ˈnām-ləs 

1

: having no name

2

: not marked with a name

a nameless grave

3

: unknown entry 1, anonymous

a nameless hero

4

a

: impossible to describe

nameless fears

b

: too disgusting or disturbing to be described

nameless acts of cruelty