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feckless. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
feckless, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
feckless in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
feckless you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Etymology
From Scots feckless, variant of Scots fectless (“ineffectual”) (an aphetic variant of effectless), equivalent to effect + -less.
Pronunciation
Adjective
feckless (comparative more feckless, superlative most feckless)
- Lacking purpose.
September 10 2005, Canberra Times:It is the beauty of great games when they are played at their highest level and the extraordinary thing now is that we do not have to trawl back through all the years of your inexorable progress from feckless beach boy to master sportsman.
- Without skill, ineffective, incompetent.
- Lacking the courage to act in any meaningful way.
- (British, archaic) Lacking vitality.
Synonyms
- (weak, ineffective): futile, hopeless, ineffective, ineffectual, feeble, meaningless, useless
- (worthless, irresponsible): unpurposed, worthless, aimless, careless, reckless, irresponsible
Antonyms
Related terms
Translations
lacking purpose
- Bulgarian: безцелен (bg) (bezcelen), напразен (bg) (naprazen)
- Chinese:
- Cantonese: 廢嘅/废嘅 (fai3 ge3)
- Danish: hjælpeløs (da), initiativløs
- Dutch: doelloos (nl)
- Finnish: päämäärätön, joutavanpäiväinen (fi)
- French: irréfléchi (fr), irresponsable (fr)
- German: nichtsnutzig (de), nutzlos (de), ziellos (de)
- Greek: άσκοπος (el) (áskopos)
- Norwegian: hjelpeløs, initiativløs
- Romanian: ineficient (ro), inutil (ro)
- Russian: бесце́льный (ru) (bescélʹnyj), напра́сный (ru) (naprásnyj)
- Swedish: hjälplös (sv), rådlös (sv)
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without skill, ineffective
- Bulgarian: вял (bg) (vjal), безполезен (bg) (bezpolezen)
- Chinese:
- Cantonese: 冇出息嘅 (mou5 ceot1 sik1 ge3)
- Danish: hjælpeløs (da), uduelig
- Dutch: inefficiënt (nl), onhandig (nl)
- Finnish: aikaansaamaton, saamaton (fi), avuton (fi), pystymätön (fi)
- French: incapable (fr)
- German: unfähig (de), untauglich (de), wirkungslos (de), ineffizient (de), ineffektiv (de)
- Greek: ανίκανος (el) (aníkanos)
- Ido: nekapabla (io)
- Norwegian: hjelpeløs, udugelig (no), ubehjelpelig
- Russian: бесполе́зный (ru) (bespoléznyj), вя́лый (ru) (vjályj)
- Swedish: oduglig (sv)
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lacking the courage to act in any meaningful way
Translations to be checked
Further reading
- “feckless”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “feckless”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
References
Scots
Alternative forms
Etymology
feck (“value”) + -less
Adjective
feckless (not comparable)
- ineffective
References