Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Being or seeming to be without an end or limit; boundless.
  • adjective Formed with the ends joined; continuous.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Not having a termination; continuing without end, really or apparently; having no limit or conclusion: as, endless progression; endless bliss; the endless pursuit of an object.
  • Not having ends; returning upon itself so as to exhibit neither beginning nor end: as, an endless belt or chain; a circular race-course is endless.
  • Perpetually recurring; interminable; incessant; continual: as, endless praise; endless clamor.
  • Without object, purpose, or use.
  • Without profitable conclusion; fruitless.
  • Synonyms Eternal, everlasting, perpetual, unceasing, imperishable, uninterrupted, boundless, immeasurable, unlimited.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Without end; having no end or conclusion; perpetual; interminable; -- applied to length, and to duration
  • adjective Infinite; excessive; unlimited.
  • adjective rare Without profitable end; fruitless; unsatisfying.
  • adjective Void of design; objectless.
  • adjective having a linear or ribbonlike form with the two ends connected together, such as in a circle, ellipse, torus, or any other closed loop. Belts or chains used in drive mechanisms are considered endless in this sense. See endless chain.
  • adjective a chain which is made continuous by uniting its two ends.
  • adjective (Mech.) See under Screw.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective having no end
  • adjective extending indefinitely

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective infinitely great in number
  • adjective having the ends united so as to form a continuous whole
  • adjective having no known beginning and presumably no end
  • adjective tiresomely long; seemingly without end

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

end +‎ -less

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Examples

  • It is used, in a few instances, to denote an endless age, by attaching to it another word for _endless_.

    The Arena Volume 4, No. 20, July, 1891 Various 1888

  • The design and features you can use are endless, and the amount of people on hand that offer their services when you can't figure it out is endless* (* sometimes at a price - like anything else), the amount of free designs and plugins to extend functionality that is on offer is so great you really don't have to splash out on often expensive designs if you don't want to or cant afford it.

    Blog Tips | johnmryan.com 2009

  • "The term endless strings of meaningless objections sheds an undeserving negative light on string ..."

    Scientific Blogging 2010

  • Barak said he is tired of what he described as endless infighting.

    Israeli Defense Minister Barak Quits Political Party 2011

  • Barak said he is tired of what he described as endless infighting.

    Israeli Defense Minister Barak Quits Political Party 2011

  • With "Tristan und Isolde," Wagner fully abandoned opera's separate arias and ensembles for what he called the "endless melody" of his new form, music drama.

    At the Ravinia Festival, A Liszt of Subtle Works Barrymore Laurence Scherer 2011

  • The reality is that mothers are still in charge of what I refer to as the endless list of child-rearing in my book When Parents Disagree and What You Can Do About It.

    Childhood Unbound Ron Taffel 2009

  • The reality is that mothers are still in charge of what I refer to as the endless list of child-rearing in my book When Parents Disagree and What You Can Do About It.

    Childhood Unbound Ron Taffel 2009

  • Another kind of dream I have is what I call endless house dreams.

    Do you have recurring dreams or nightmares? Steven Barnes 2008

  • And we're going to march through our agenda to get this country moving again, because after six years and, more importantly, what I refer to as the endless occupation in Iraq and the wageless recovery here at home, the American people want a Congress that's going to meet the challenges that are facing this country.

    CNN Transcript Nov 8, 2006 2006

Comments

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  • endless as in "Endless Forms Most Beautiful"

    February 5, 2008

  • A favourite of mine. Add a serene word onto the end of it and it sounds like a miniature poem of itself already.

    May 9, 2009