defenseless

adjectiveattested in dialogue

United Kingdom//dɪˈfɛnsləs//

Lacking any form of defense; vulnerable; open to attack.

adjective

1
Lacking any form of defense; vulnerable; open to attack.
Her look, her attitude, her words were eloquent of the age-old appeal of defenseless woman to her natural protector—man.
On the port tack layline , you're defenseless against starboard tackers — you have to dip them , no matter how much you may lose doing it — and the wind shadow of boats spinnakering away from the mark can cost you plenty.

Etymology

Etymology tree English defense Proto-Indo-European *lewh₁- Proto-Indo-European *lewHs-der. Proto-Germanic *leusaną Proto-Germanic *lausaz Proto-Germanic *-lausaz Proto-West Germanic *-laus Old English -lēas Middle English -les English -less English defenseless From defense + -less.

Forms

comparative: more defenseless
superlative: most defenseless

defender · Someone who defends people or property.defending · An act of defence.defense · The action of defending or protecting from attack, danger, or…

defenseless · Lacking any form of defense; vulnerable; open to attack.

defensive · Intended for defence; protective.defiance · The feeling, or spirit of being defiant.Defiance · A small city in Shelby County, Iowa, United States.

The neighbouring pages — Alphabetical order follows the rules of the language, not byte values: an accent decides only between two otherwise identical words, and Spanish files Ñ as a letter of its own.