voiceless

[vois-lis]

adjective

1. having no voice; mute.

2. uttering no words; silent.

3. having an unmusical voice.

4. unspoken; unuttered.

   voiceless sympathy.

5. having no vote or right of choice.

6. Phonetics.,  (of a speech sound)

   1. without voice; unvoiced; surd; aphonic (voiced ).

      “p,” “f,” and “s” are voiceless.

   2. uttered without phonation.

voiceless

/ ˈvɔɪslɪs /

adjective

1. without a voice; mute

2. not articulated

   voiceless misery

3. lacking a musical voice

4. silent

5. without the power or right to express an opinion

6. phonetics articulated without accompanying vibration of the vocal cords

   in English (p) is a voiceless consonant

Other Word Forms

• voicelessly adverb
• voicelessness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of voiceless¹

First recorded in 1525–35; voice + -less

Example Sentences

“He speaks for the voiceless and tried his best to come up with answers to problems that seem unanswerable.”

From Los Angeles Times

“It made me feel voiceless and less than human. I was regularly harassed by police.”

From Los Angeles Times

Which makes it all the more important to have elected leaders like Chu willing to put themselves on the front lines to give a voice to the truly, really voiceless.

From Los Angeles Times

At some point, the massive power imbalance baked into the entire Western liberal-democratic polity, which drives so many people who feel voiceless and disenfranchised into consumerist apathy, fascist fantasy or both, will require radical readjustment.

From Salon

There was appreciation for his endeavour to become a voice for the voiceless and focus on the poor and those whose destinies were not in their own hands.

From BBC