1
: having or providing no clue
a clueless case for the police to solve
2
: completely or hopelessly bewildered, unaware, ignorant, or foolish
clueless about what they want
cluelessly
adverb
I played dumb. I have arrived at a point in my life where I can perform this stunt with aplomb. "What do you mean?" I asked, as cluelessly as I knew how.
—
Steve Friedman
Steve Friedman
cluelessness
noun
Mowrey is also trying to make a deer hunter of Bentley, whose cluelessness as an outdoors-man is a rich source of amusement to his country-boy crony.
—Austin Murphy
Austin Murphy
Synonyms
Examples of clueless in a Sentence
When it comes to computers, I'm clueless.
They were clueless about what to do.
Recent Examples on the Web
Corrupt local officials, clueless charity bosses, the daily grind of cajoling poor people to try something new without pissing them off.
—Leif Wenar, WIRED, 27 Mar. 2024
There was a lot of upset in the cities, protests about (the murder of) George Floyd and the clueless response from people in power.
—Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 24 Mar. 2024
Comedian Diane Morgan plays the clueless and comedically ignorant Philomena Cunk, who travels the world making civilization's daffiest historical documentary.
—Danny Horn, EW.com, 24 Jan. 2024
Jude’s cynical social perceptions and teasing sympathy toward strivers like Angela and her common-man subjects surpass the efforts of all his clueless filmmaking contemporaries, such as Wes Anderson, who packs whimsy into his Roald Dahl anthology only to create solipsistic distraction.
—Armond White, National Review, 22 Mar. 2024
What has changed over the years is that many boards have become increasingly corporate, increasingly powerful and increasingly clueless.
—Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2024
But don’t come at me for being incompetent and clueless as a parent.
—Saul Austerlitz, The Atlantic, 5 Mar. 2024
As knowledge of this system faded away, well-meaning but clueless contractors had increased the pressure tenfold.
—Ann Kowal Smith, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024
The four other models, all by distinguished architects, were suspiciously clueless.
—Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2024
Leif Wenar, WIRED, 27 Mar. 2024
There was a lot of upset in the cities, protests about (the murder of) George Floyd and the clueless response from people in power.
—Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 24 Mar. 2024
Comedian Diane Morgan plays the clueless and comedically ignorant Philomena Cunk, who travels the world making civilization's daffiest historical documentary.
—Danny Horn, EW.com, 24 Jan. 2024
Jude’s cynical social perceptions and teasing sympathy toward strivers like Angela and her common-man subjects surpass the efforts of all his clueless filmmaking contemporaries, such as Wes Anderson, who packs whimsy into his Roald Dahl anthology only to create solipsistic distraction.
—Armond White, National Review, 22 Mar. 2024
What has changed over the years is that many boards have become increasingly corporate, increasingly powerful and increasingly clueless.
—Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2024
But don’t come at me for being incompetent and clueless as a parent.
—Saul Austerlitz, The Atlantic, 5 Mar. 2024
As knowledge of this system faded away, well-meaning but clueless contractors had increased the pressure tenfold.
—Ann Kowal Smith, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024
The four other models, all by distinguished architects, were suspiciously clueless.
—Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'clueless.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to clueless
Dictionary Entries Near clueless
Cite this Entry
“Clueless.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clueless. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
clueless
adjective
clue·less
ˈklü-ləs 
: having or providing no clue
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