What does windless mean?
Windless is an adjective meaning that there is no wind. It most often describes weather, a day, or an atmosphere, with a windless afternoon evoking stillness rather than turbulence. The word is related to but distinct from airless: windlessness concerns moving air, whereas an airless place may lack fresh circulation and can suggest staleness. Windless conditions are also distinct from windy ones simply by opposition, but the term can carry a quiet, contemplative, or slightly expectant quality, as though movement is temporarily suspended. In literary and descriptive writing, it evokes calm, stillness, and sometimes heat, since a still atmosphere offers no cooling breeze. Although “not windy” can express the same basic idea in ordinary speech, windless is more evocative and compact. It can describe genuinely calm conditions without implying that the atmosphere is necessarily stale, oppressive, or otherwise unpleasant.
adjectiveHaving no wind; characterized by the absence of moving air.
- With no wind; characterized by the absence of moving air.
"The sails hung slack on the windless day."
"The sails hung slack on the windless day."
"The valley remained windless throughout the night."
Still air can be fresh; windless only tells you that it is not moving.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of windless
Windless is an English compound formed from Old English wind, meaning “wind,” and the suffix -less, which comes from Old English -lēas, meaning “without.” The word has been in English use since the early modern period. Words such as windmill, windstorm, and whirlwind are later compounds or derivatives built on the same English noun rather than separate borrowings or cognates.
Related word forms
How windless is actually used
The word is especially common in descriptive and literary contexts. It is more evocative than the neutral phrase “not windy” and is often used when the absence of wind contributes to an atmosphere of stillness, heat, or suspended activity.
Easily confused with windless
A windlass is a mechanical device for raising weights or tightening ropes, whereas windless means simply that there is no wind.