toothless
adjective
tooth·less
| \ ˈtüth-ləs
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Definition of toothless
1
: having no teeth
2a
: lacking in sharpness or bite
spoke in toothless generalities— Arthur Hepner
b
: lacking in means of enforcement or coercion : ineffectual
Examples of toothless in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Labor experts decried these as toothless organizations that would lack any leverage to negotiate. — Carolyn Said, SFChronicle.com, "Uber circulates new gig-work bill as alternative to AB5," 9 Sep. 2019 Those exceptions have, in many parts of Florida, rendered the two anti-trolling changes almost toothless. — Monivette Cordeiro, orlandosentinel.com, "Florida guardianship laws weakened by elder law attorneys’ lobbying. For some courts, exceptions have become the rule | Special report," 30 Aug. 2019 But that changed in July, when Moscow’s unelected technocratic administration opted to bar 19 independent candidates from registering for elections to the city’s largely toothless city council. — The Christian Science Monitor, "Encircling the interrupters with civility," 23 Aug. 2019 Trevino, a pitcher for Mercedes High School in the Rio Grande Valley, turned the Reckless bats into toothless bats. — Robert Avery, Houston Chronicle, "Synergy’s fifth-inning energy hands Mercedes High School pitcher win in 18U softball action," 25 July 2019 Although his batting average tops these toothless Tigers among AL qualifiers, Miguel Cabrera has been a shadow of his former self, slashing .278/.339/.390 with nine home runs and 48 RBIs (also a team high) in 400 at-bats. — Houston Chronicle, "On deck: Detroit Tigers at Astros," 18 Aug. 2019 Men who come from a place where the number one film of the year (so far) is Avengers: Endgame, which touts toothless representation while failing spectacularly to go beyond standard-issue good and evil. — Soraya Roberts, Longreads, "Won’t You Be My Neighbor: An Anti-Hate Pop Culture Syllabus," 9 Aug. 2019 Harsh reality struck with Garoppolo’s Week 3 injury and a toothless defense. — Cam Inman, The Mercury News, "49ers camp preview: Five areas that demand answers," 22 July 2019 However misdirected the current ire, the multilateral system for restraining currency manipulation is indeed toothless. — The Economist, "America considers retaliating against currency manipulation," 27 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'toothless.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for toothless
toothless
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of toothless
: having or showing no teeth
: not effective or powerful
See the full definition for toothless in the English Language Learners Dictionary
toothless
adjective
tooth·less
| \ ˈtüth-ləs
\
\
Medical Definition of toothless
: having no teeth