unmeaningadj.n.

Brit.

/(ˌ)ʌnˈmiːnɪŋ/, U.S.

/ˌənˈminɪŋ/

Forms: see un- prefix¹ and meaning adj.

Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: un- prefix¹, meaning adj.

Etymology: < un- prefix¹ + meaning adj.

A. adj.

a. Having no significance or import; (of speech, writing, etc.) expressing nothing of significance; without meaning or sense.In quot. 1743: uttering nothing of significance.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > absence of meaning > [adjective]

emptya1225

sleevelessc1450

dumb1531

insensible1538

senseless1579

weetless1579

unsignificant1603

surd1605

matterless1612

unmeaning1632

non-significative1633

brute1642

shelly1648

insignificant1651

insignificative1660

unsignificative1664

unsignifying1665

unsensed1667

meaningless1728

bilka1734

meanless1734

inexpressive1744

unideal1751

unexpressive1755

idealess1793

unsuggestive1797

tenorless1821

themeless1840

nonsensible1851

inarticulate1855

purportless1865

expressionless1871

vacuous1872

contentless1886

unmeaningful1897

the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > absence of meaning > nonsense, rubbish > unintelligible language, gibberish > [adjective] > uttering gibberish

unmeaning1632

gibbering1711

1632 H. Reynolds Mythomystes 7 The artfull woofe of his [sc. Ariosto's] ingenious, though vnmeaning fables.

1711 A. Pope Ess. Crit. 22 The..only Couplet fraught With some unmeaning Thing they call a Thought.

1743 W. Whitehead Epist. Ann Boleyn 90 Each distant Hint that hung On broken Sounds of an unmeaning Tongue.

1767 T. Percival Ess. Med. & Exper. i. 11 These wanton theorists conceal their ignorance..by unmeaning terms and pompous phrases.

1835 S. A. Eliot Addr. Boston Acad. Music 5 Why has music been thought so unmeaning and useless?

1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. xv. 559 Several neighbouring nations..thought this most unmeaning of all names worth borrowing.

1875 C. D. E. Fortnum Maiolica xi. 109 The unmeaning designs of the oriental porcelain.

1921 H. G. Wells Outl. Hist. (rev. ed.) xiv. 145 These unmeaning sepulchral piles [sc. the pyramids], of an almost incredible vastness.

1992 London Rev. Bks. 26 Mar. 22/1 He had sent in an absurdly knotted French text which had been turned by a translator into a blankly unmeaning English one.

b. Of actions, words, conduct, etc.: not meant or intended; meaningless, empty; without purpose or advantage.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > will > intention > unintentional or unplanned character > [adjective] > unintentional or involuntary

unviseda1300

unwilful1398

unwilly1398

unbodena1400

voluntarya1450

non-voluntaryc1454

involuntary1531

unwilling1535

unwilleda1540

unmeant1550

unvoluntary1570

uncalleda1586

uncalleda1610

unintended1649

undesigned1651

mechanic1657

automatic1694

unmeaning1698

inadvertent1724

unbidden1726

unintentional1782

unweeting1794

unwitting1818

undeliberate1874

agnomical1881

1698 C. Gildon Phaeton iv. i. 20 By artful sighs, and your unmeaning Vows, At once his Hopes, and Vengeance I betray'd.

1728 E. Haywood tr. M.-A.. de Gomez Belle Assemblée (new ed.) II. 228 Turning the Effect of his Admiration into the Appearance of an unmeaning Gallantry.

1776 W. J. Mickle in tr. L. de Camoens Lusiad Introd. p. lxxvii Unmeaning slaughter..comprise[s] the whole history of his regency.

1837 W. T. Beeby Anabaptists 16th Cent. (ed. 3) iii. 44 The ordinance, as so observed, becomes..a truly unmeaning, unprofitable ceremony.

1869 J. Martineau Ess. Philos. & Theol. 2nd Ser. 229 The tendency..is not an unmeaning accident.

1903 G. Gissing Private Papers Henry Ryecroft 107 I have grimaced a smile and pattered unmeaning words to many a person whom I despised.

1972 A. J. P. Taylor Let. 20 Dec. in Lett. to Eva (1991) 105 I detest Christmas and always have. Unmeaning exchanges of wishes with people you never give a thought to otherwise.

2013 Financial Law Reporter (Nexis) 7 May The provincial autonomy granted by the new scheme of government would be unmeaning and empty, unless it was fortified by adequate sources of revenue.

c. Of the voice, etc.: uttering words which are not meant.

ΚΠ

1794 H. J. Pye Siege Meaux i. 28 The mere parade of words, a compliment Paid with unmeaning voice.

1842 Christian Examiner & Gen. Rev. Jan. 360 Yet we may aspire to that divine love we so often name with unmeaning lips.

1918 G. T. Ladd Knowl., Life & Reality iv. 73 It is with no vain or unmeaning voice that we inquire after the truth of a proposition by asking: ‘Are you satisfied with the correctness of your solution?’

2007 I. M. Blumberg Houses of Stud. 125 A working-class family man,..shaming his son with unmeaning tongue.

†a. Of a person or the mind: having no serious aim or purpose; frivolous, shallow; (also) foolish, unintelligent. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > will > intention > unintentional or unplanned character > [adjective] > unintentional or involuntary > aimless

purposeless1552

aimless1583

wayless1605

shapelessa1616

designless1649

scopeless1666

unmeaning1680

objectless1797

motiveless1798

purportless1802

driftless1806

adrift1818

unpurpose-like1825

unpurposed1827

goalless1828

nothingarian1859

1680 Earl of Rochester et al. Poems 49 To rack, and torture thy unmeaning Brain, In Satyrs praise,..In thee was most impertinent.

1746 E. Haywood Female Spectator No. 24 (1748) IV. 305 Being a fool, [she] was thoughtless, giddy, and unmeaning.

a1789 W. Pierce in W. G. Brown Life O. Ellsworth (1905) iv. 119 Mr. Sherman..is awkward, unmeaning, and unaccountably strange in his manner.

1812 M. R. Mitford in A. G. L'Estrange Life M. R. Mitford (1870) I. 172 Peace be to them, sweet simpletons! as unmeaning..as their own dinner-bells.

a1879 R. E. Leprohon Poet. Wks. (1881) 129 Girls coquettish, silly women, vapid and unmeaning men.

b. Of the features, a gaze, etc.: expressionless, vacant; (apparently) unintelligent. Now rare (chiefly in historical contexts).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > [adjective]

unwittyc1000

heartlessa1382

meana1387

conceitless?c1425

insensuat1508

insensate1528

insensible?1531

miskenning1533

unsensible1560

witless1562

unfraught1587

unconceiving1593

stupid1595

small-knowing1598

surd1601

ununderstanding1611

unapprehensible1613

unperceiving?1623

unapprehensive1624

inapprehending1652

incomprehensive1652

inapprehensive1653

impenetrative1684

blind1692

uncomprehensive1694

unpenetrating1701

unmeaning1704

vacant1712

gilly-gaupus1754

unacute1775

unapprehending1794

unpenetrative1795

unwitted1828

uncomprehending1838

irrecognizant1845

vacuous1848

incomprehending1881

mush-headed1884

wantwit1894

doofus1967

acerebral1968

brain-dead1972

goofus1981

1704 R. Steele Lying Lover iii. 32 Poor stupid insipid Lady Fad,..with that unmeaning Face of hers.

?1760 J. Langhorne Poems Several Occasions 31 The truant Thought to distant Objects strays, And leaves these Eyes in an unmeaning gaze.

1815 W. Scott Guy Mannering I. ix. 149 Bertram turned a stupified and unmeaning eye on the messenger.

1884 Vet. Jrnl. 19 21 Eyes generally fixed in a wild, unmeaning stare.

1910 B. L. P. Weale Confl. Colour v. 266 The prejudiced and unintelligent millions,..who turn unmeaning faces towards that which is novel.

1978 P. O'Brian Desolation Island i. 22 Jenyns was..a man who had inherited a vast brewery and a broad, pale, unmeaning countenance.

B. n.

Chiefly Philosophy. That which is meaningless.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > absence of meaning > [noun]

insolidity1578

emptiness1579

insignificancy1651

no-meaning1672

insignificance1754

inexpression1796

inexpressiveness1815

vacuousness1816

unmeaningness1825

unmeaning1839

pointlessness1845

non-significance1846

meaninglessness1853

unsuggestiveness1858

unexpressiveness1885

nonsense1942

1839 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Sept. 311/1 There is a vast improvement in the most essential character of art in mind... The unmeaning is vanishing.

1856 J. S. Mill Syst. Logic (ed. 4) I. ii. vii. 305 ‘Abracadabra is a second intention’ is neither true nor false. Between the true and the false there is a third possibility, the Unmeaning.

1870 B. Disraeli Lothair III. xvii. 182 There must be design, or all we see would be without sense, and I do not believe in the unmeaning.

1905 Jrnl. Philos., Psychol. & Sci. Methods 2 569 It seems easy, I think, to cast grave doubt upon the existence of the unmeaning in consciousness.

1939 W. M. Urban Lang. & Reality vii. 268 It asks the question how shall we use language, the word and the sentence, so that they shall express the logically meaningful rather than the unmeaning.

1991 R. E. Goodkin Tragic Middle ii. 35 The unmeaning need not be limited to the nonsensical, but may also include the category of everything that resists meaning as an act of quantification and simplification.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2014; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	unmeaning
释义	unmeaningadj.n. Brit. /(ˌ)ʌnˈmiːnɪŋ/, U.S. /ˌənˈminɪŋ/ Forms: see un- prefix¹ and meaning adj. Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: un- prefix¹, meaning adj. Etymology: < un- prefix¹ + meaning adj. A. adj. 1. a. Having no significance or import; (of speech, writing, etc.) expressing nothing of significance; without meaning or sense.In quot. 1743: uttering nothing of significance. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > absence of meaning > [adjective] emptya1225 sleevelessc1450 dumb1531 insensible1538 senseless1579 weetless1579 unsignificant1603 surd1605 matterless1612 unmeaning1632 non-significative1633 brute1642 shelly1648 insignificant1651 insignificative1660 unsignificative1664 unsignifying1665 unsensed1667 meaningless1728 bilka1734 meanless1734 inexpressive1744 unideal1751 unexpressive1755 idealess1793 unsuggestive1797 tenorless1821 themeless1840 nonsensible1851 inarticulate1855 purportless1865 expressionless1871 vacuous1872 contentless1886 unmeaningful1897 the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > absence of meaning > nonsense, rubbish > unintelligible language, gibberish > [adjective] > uttering gibberish unmeaning1632 gibbering1711 1632 H. Reynolds Mythomystes 7 The artfull woofe of his [sc. Ariosto's] ingenious, though vnmeaning fables. 1711 A. Pope Ess. Crit. 22 The..only Couplet fraught With some unmeaning Thing they call a Thought. 1743 W. Whitehead Epist. Ann Boleyn 90 Each distant Hint that hung On broken Sounds of an unmeaning Tongue. 1767 T. Percival Ess. Med. & Exper. i. 11 These wanton theorists conceal their ignorance..by unmeaning terms and pompous phrases. 1835 S. A. Eliot Addr. Boston Acad. Music 5 Why has music been thought so unmeaning and useless? 1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. xv. 559 Several neighbouring nations..thought this most unmeaning of all names worth borrowing. 1875 C. D. E. Fortnum Maiolica xi. 109 The unmeaning designs of the oriental porcelain. 1921 H. G. Wells Outl. Hist. (rev. ed.) xiv. 145 These unmeaning sepulchral piles [sc. the pyramids], of an almost incredible vastness. 1992 London Rev. Bks. 26 Mar. 22/1 He had sent in an absurdly knotted French text which had been turned by a translator into a blankly unmeaning English one. b. Of actions, words, conduct, etc.: not meant or intended; meaningless, empty; without purpose or advantage. ΘΚΠ the mind > will > intention > unintentional or unplanned character > [adjective] > unintentional or involuntary unviseda1300 unwilful1398 unwilly1398 unbodena1400 voluntarya1450 non-voluntaryc1454 involuntary1531 unwilling1535 unwilleda1540 unmeant1550 unvoluntary1570 uncalleda1586 uncalleda1610 unintended1649 undesigned1651 mechanic1657 automatic1694 unmeaning1698 inadvertent1724 unbidden1726 unintentional1782 unweeting1794 unwitting1818 undeliberate1874 agnomical1881 1698 C. Gildon Phaeton iv. i. 20 By artful sighs, and your unmeaning Vows, At once his Hopes, and Vengeance I betray'd. 1728 E. Haywood tr. M.-A.. de Gomez Belle Assemblée (new ed.) II. 228 Turning the Effect of his Admiration into the Appearance of an unmeaning Gallantry. 1776 W. J. Mickle in tr. L. de Camoens Lusiad Introd. p. lxxvii Unmeaning slaughter..comprise[s] the whole history of his regency. 1837 W. T. Beeby Anabaptists 16th Cent. (ed. 3) iii. 44 The ordinance, as so observed, becomes..a truly unmeaning, unprofitable ceremony. 1869 J. Martineau Ess. Philos. & Theol. 2nd Ser. 229 The tendency..is not an unmeaning accident. 1903 G. Gissing Private Papers Henry Ryecroft 107 I have grimaced a smile and pattered unmeaning words to many a person whom I despised. 1972 A. J. P. Taylor Let. 20 Dec. in Lett. to Eva (1991) 105 I detest Christmas and always have. Unmeaning exchanges of wishes with people you never give a thought to otherwise. 2013 Financial Law Reporter (Nexis) 7 May The provincial autonomy granted by the new scheme of government would be unmeaning and empty, unless it was fortified by adequate sources of revenue. c. Of the voice, etc.: uttering words which are not meant. ΚΠ 1794 H. J. Pye Siege Meaux i. 28 The mere parade of words, a compliment Paid with unmeaning voice. 1842 Christian Examiner & Gen. Rev. Jan. 360 Yet we may aspire to that divine love we so often name with unmeaning lips. 1918 G. T. Ladd Knowl., Life & Reality iv. 73 It is with no vain or unmeaning voice that we inquire after the truth of a proposition by asking: ‘Are you satisfied with the correctness of your solution?’ 2007 I. M. Blumberg Houses of Stud. 125 A working-class family man,..shaming his son with unmeaning tongue. 2. †a. Of a person or the mind: having no serious aim or purpose; frivolous, shallow; (also) foolish, unintelligent. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > will > intention > unintentional or unplanned character > [adjective] > unintentional or involuntary > aimless purposeless1552 aimless1583 wayless1605 shapelessa1616 designless1649 scopeless1666 unmeaning1680 objectless1797 motiveless1798 purportless1802 driftless1806 adrift1818 unpurpose-like1825 unpurposed1827 goalless1828 nothingarian1859 1680 Earl of Rochester et al. Poems 49 To rack, and torture thy unmeaning Brain, In Satyrs praise,..In thee was most impertinent. 1746 E. Haywood Female Spectator No. 24 (1748) IV. 305 Being a fool, [she] was thoughtless, giddy, and unmeaning. a1789 W. Pierce in W. G. Brown Life O. Ellsworth (1905) iv. 119 Mr. Sherman..is awkward, unmeaning, and unaccountably strange in his manner. 1812 M. R. Mitford in A. G. L'Estrange Life M. R. Mitford (1870) I. 172 Peace be to them, sweet simpletons! as unmeaning..as their own dinner-bells. a1879 R. E. Leprohon Poet. Wks. (1881) 129 Girls coquettish, silly women, vapid and unmeaning men. b. Of the features, a gaze, etc.: expressionless, vacant; (apparently) unintelligent. Now rare (chiefly in historical contexts). ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > [adjective] unwittyc1000 heartlessa1382 meana1387 conceitless?c1425 insensuat1508 insensate1528 insensible?1531 miskenning1533 unsensible1560 witless1562 unfraught1587 unconceiving1593 stupid1595 small-knowing1598 surd1601 ununderstanding1611 unapprehensible1613 unperceiving?1623 unapprehensive1624 inapprehending1652 incomprehensive1652 inapprehensive1653 impenetrative1684 blind1692 uncomprehensive1694 unpenetrating1701 unmeaning1704 vacant1712 gilly-gaupus1754 unacute1775 unapprehending1794 unpenetrative1795 unwitted1828 uncomprehending1838 irrecognizant1845 vacuous1848 incomprehending1881 mush-headed1884 wantwit1894 doofus1967 acerebral1968 brain-dead1972 goofus1981 1704 R. Steele Lying Lover iii. 32 Poor stupid insipid Lady Fad,..with that unmeaning Face of hers. ?1760 J. Langhorne Poems Several Occasions 31 The truant Thought to distant Objects strays, And leaves these Eyes in an unmeaning gaze. 1815 W. Scott Guy Mannering I. ix. 149 Bertram turned a stupified and unmeaning eye on the messenger. 1884 Vet. Jrnl. 19 21 Eyes generally fixed in a wild, unmeaning stare. 1910 B. L. P. Weale Confl. Colour v. 266 The prejudiced and unintelligent millions,..who turn unmeaning faces towards that which is novel. 1978 P. O'Brian Desolation Island i. 22 Jenyns was..a man who had inherited a vast brewery and a broad, pale, unmeaning countenance. B. n. Chiefly Philosophy. That which is meaningless. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > absence of meaning > [noun] insolidity1578 emptiness1579 insignificancy1651 no-meaning1672 insignificance1754 inexpression1796 inexpressiveness1815 vacuousness1816 unmeaningness1825 unmeaning1839 pointlessness1845 non-significance1846 meaninglessness1853 unsuggestiveness1858 unexpressiveness1885 nonsense1942 1839 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Sept. 311/1 There is a vast improvement in the most essential character of art in mind... The unmeaning is vanishing. 1856 J. S. Mill Syst. Logic (ed. 4) I. ii. vii. 305 ‘Abracadabra is a second intention’ is neither true nor false. Between the true and the false there is a third possibility, the Unmeaning. 1870 B. Disraeli Lothair III. xvii. 182 There must be design, or all we see would be without sense, and I do not believe in the unmeaning. 1905 Jrnl. Philos., Psychol. & Sci. Methods 2 569 It seems easy, I think, to cast grave doubt upon the existence of the unmeaning in consciousness. 1939 W. M. Urban Lang. & Reality vii. 268 It asks the question how shall we use language, the word and the sentence, so that they shall express the logically meaningful rather than the unmeaning. 1991 R. E. Goodkin Tragic Middle ii. 35 The unmeaning need not be limited to the nonsensical, but may also include the category of everything that resists meaning as an act of quantification and simplification. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2014; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < adj.n.1632
随便看	determinablenesses determinably determinacies determinacy determinandum determinans determinant determinantal determinants determinate determinate number determinate problem determinated determinately determinateness determinatenesses determinates determinating determination determinations determinative determinative adjective determinative compound determinative pronoun determinatively