stateless

adjective

state·​less ˈstāt-ləs How to pronounce stateless (audio)
1
: having no state
2
: lacking the status of a national
a stateless refugee
statelessness noun

Examples of stateless in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
And sometimes, systems are mistakenly designed to be stateless even when maintaining state is crucial. Naresh Prajapati, Forbes.com, 29 May 2025 Each year, roughly 255,000 children could be born without U.S. citizenship, creating a growing population of stateless residents, according to the data. David Catanese, Miami Herald, 15 May 2025 According to one analysis, in the absence of federal data, roughly 218,000 U.S. residents were potentially stateless, or at risk of becoming stateless, as of 2017. Sarah Matusek, Christian Science Monitor, 13 May 2025 United Stateless, a human rights advocacy group, says reinterpreting birthright citizenship would create more stateless people. Sarah Matusek, Christian Science Monitor, 13 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for stateless

Word History

First Known Use

1858, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of stateless was in 1858

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Stateless.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stateless. Accessed 17 Jun. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!