workless

C2+ Topic:Work & Careers

US /ˈwɝk.ləs/ UK /ˈwɜːk.ləs/ See IPA manual

adj

Meanings

1

adj
without work; unemployed

The factory's closure left hundreds workless overnight.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · without work; unemployed unemployed jobless idle redundant

Opposites

employed working

Word family

Derived forms worklessness

Related forms work worker workable

Etymology

From work + -less, from Old English weorc ('work, deed') + -lēas ('without').

weorc Old English *werǵom Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Work & Careers Word Formation & Derivatives

# workless

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** ˈwɝk.ləs
**IPA (UK):** ˈwɜːk.ləs

## Meanings
1. without work; unemployed

## Examples
- The factory's closure left hundreds workless overnight.

## Synonyms
- unemployed
- jobless
- idle
- redundant

## Antonyms
- employed
- working

## Derived Forms
- worklessness

## Related Forms
- work
- worker
- workable

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: weorc
- Root: *werǵom

## Etymology
From work + -less, from Old English weorc ('work, deed') + -lēas ('without').

## AI Etymology
Workless comes from work + -less, from Old English weorc ('work, deed') + -lēas ('without'). In current use it is an adjective meaning "without work; unemployed". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The suffix -less marks lack, absence, or deprivation. The surface form is compositional: its joined elements remain visible in the modern word. The historical chain includes Old English weorc and Proto-Indo-European *werǵom. Related English forms include work, worker, and workable. A derived form is worklessness. As a result, the modern word is best read as a negative, privative, or reversative formation built on a historically older base.

## Topics
- Work & Careers
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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workless

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