spiritless

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spir·it·less

(spĭr′ĭt-lĭs)

adj.

Lacking energy or enthusiasm; listless.

spir′it·less·ly adv.

spir′it·less·ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

spiritless

(ˈspɪrɪtlɪs)

adj

lacking courage or liveliness; melancholic

ˈspiritlessly adv

ˈspiritlessness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

spir•it•less

(ˈspɪr ɪt lɪs)

adj.

without ardor, vigor, zeal, or the like.

[1560–70]

spir′it•less•ly, adv.

spir′it•less•ness, n.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Adj.	1.	spiritless - lacking ardor or vigor or energy; "a spiritless reply to criticism" dull - lacking in liveliness or animation; "he was so dull at parties"; "a dull political campaign"; "a large dull impassive man"; "dull days with nothing to do"; "how dull and dreary the world is"; "fell back into one of her dull moods" unenthusiastic - not enthusiastic; lacking excitement or ardor; "an unenthusiastic performance by the orchestra"; "unenthusiastic applause" spirited - displaying animation, vigor, or liveliness
	2.	spiritless - evidencing little spirit or courage; overly submissive or compliant; "compliant and anxious to suit his opinions of those of others"; "a fine fiery blast against meek conformity"- Orville Prescott; "she looked meek but had the heart of a lion"; "was submissive and subservient" meek

spiritless

adjective apathetic, lacklustre, dispirited, listless, low (informal), depressed, dull, melancholy, lifeless, unmoved, languid, dejected, despondent, melancholic, droopy, unenthusiastic, torpid, mopy The crowds were too spiritless to resist.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

spiritless

adjective

1. Lacking energy and vitality or showing such a lack:

flagging, lackadaisical, languid, languorous, leaden, limp, listless, lymphatic.

2. In low spirits:

blue, dejected, depressed, desolate, dispirited, down, downcast, downhearted, dull, dysphoric, gloomy, heavy-hearted, low, melancholic, melancholy, sad, tristful, unhappy, wistful.

Idiom: down at the mouth.

3. Lacking liveliness, charm, or surprise:

arid, aseptic, colorless, drab, dry, dull, earthbound, flat, flavorless, lackluster, lifeless, lusterless, matter-of-fact, pedestrian, prosaic, sterile, stodgy, unimaginative, uninspired.

Translations

spiritless

[ˈspɪrɪtlɪs] ADJ → apocado, sin ánimo

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

spiritless

adj person, performance, book → saft- und kraftlos; agreement, acceptance, reply → lustlos; animal → brav, lahm (inf)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

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References in classic literature ?

Cowardly, spiritless creature, art thou not in the very place the fair Magalona occupied, and from which she descended, not into the grave, but to become Queen of France; unless the histories lie?

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I should have jeered at myself ever afterwards: "So you funked it, you funked it, you funked the real thing!" On the contrary, I passionately longed to show all that "rabble" that I was by no means such a spiritless creature as I seemed to myself.

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At present he had a little, soft, spiritless thing that whimpered and wept all the time, whether he beat her or not; and her passing was a question of very little time.

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At length, he himself re-appeared among his guests; but it was no longer the same pale, spiritless countenance they had beheld when he left them; from pale he had become livid; and from spiritless, annihilated.

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All the music that they had ever heard before seemed spiritless prentice-work and barren of grace and charm when compared with these intoxicating floods of melodious sound.

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mama, how spiritless, how tame was Edward's manner in reading to us last night!

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The prosecution was spiritless and perfunctory; the defense easily established--with regard to the deceased--an alibi.

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Polly did not look sick, though her cheeks were thinner and her color paler than formerly, but she seemed spiritless, and there was a tired look in her eyes that went to Fanny's heart.

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disgraced by his spiritless neglect of his own duty.

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The last three, which Agatha liked, helped to make the contrast between Alton and London tolerable to her, but they had their drawbacks, for good partners at the dances, and good performances at the spiritless opera and concerts, were disappointingly scarce.

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Rendered spiritless by the ill-success of all their endeavours, he had yielded to his brother-in-law's entreaty that he would return to his family, and leave it to him to do whatever occasion might suggest to be advisable for continuing their pursuit.

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At the further end the great churn could be seen revolving, and its slip-slopping heard--the moving power being discernible through the window in the form of a spiritless horse walking in a circle and driven by a boy.