airless

English

Etymology

air + -less

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /eə(ɹ).ləs/
  • Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)ləs

Adjective

airless (comparative more airless, superlative most airless)

  1. Lacking or being without air.
  2. Lacking air circulation.
    • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 7, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      […] St. Bede's at this period of its history was perhaps the poorest and most miserable parish in the East End of London. Close-packed, crushed by the buttressed height of the railway viaduct, rendered airless by huge walls of factories, it at once banished lively interest from a stranger's mind and left only a dull oppression of the spirit.
  3. With air that is stale.
  4. (medicine) Suffering from asphyxia.
  5. (figuratively) Stifling; dead; lacking vitality or excitement.
    • 2012 November 8, Scott Tobias, “Memento’s puzzle structure hides big twists and bigger profundities”, in The AV Club:
      The worst that can—and has—been said about Memento is that it’s an airless gimmick, visually undistinguished, and not even all that sophisticated when the puzzle pieces are finally put together.

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