different between wrong vs senseless

English

Etymology

From Middle English wrong, from Old English wrang (“wrong, twisted, uneven”), from Old Norse rangr, *vrangr (“crooked, wrong”), from Proto-Germanic *wrangaz (“crooked, twisted, turned awry”), from Proto-Indo-European *wer?-, *wreng?- (“to twist, weave, tie together”), from *wer- (“to turn, bend”). Cognate with Scots wrang (“wrong”), Danish vrang (“wrong, crooked”), Swedish vrång (“perverse, distorted”), Icelandic rangur (“wrong”), Norwegian Nynorsk rang (“wrong”), Dutch wrang (“bitter, sour”) and the first element in the mythic Old Frisian city of Rungholt (“crooked wood”). More at wring.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /???/
• (General American) enPR: r?ng, IPA^(key): /???/
• Rhymes: -??

Adjective

wrong (comparative more wrong or wronger, superlative most wrong or wrongest)

1. Incorrect or untrue.
   • 1592, William Shakespeare, Richard III, Act II, Scene I:

     Among this princely heap, if any here / By false intelligence or wrong surmise / Hold me a foe […]

2. Asserting something incorrect or untrue.

3. Immoral, not good, bad.

4. Improper; unfit; unsuitable.

5. Not working; out of order.

6. Designed to be worn or placed inward

7. (obsolete) Twisted; wry.

Usage notes

• The single-word comparative and superlative forms wronger and wrongest are no longer in common use, except humorously; rather, the locutions “more wrong” and “most wrong” are preferred.
• When wrong is used attributively, before a noun, the noun is usually treated as definite, using the article the; hence, for example, one says, “I dialed the wrong number”, “he gave the wrong answer”, and “she took the wrong approach”, even though there are many possible wrong numbers, answers, and approaches, of which only one was dialed, given, or taken.

Synonyms

• injurious
• unjust
• faulty
• detrimental
• unfit
• unsuitable
• Thesaurus:false

Derived terms

Antonyms

• right

Translations

Quotations

• 2007 January 3, Ken Miller, “The Collapse of Intelligent Design: Will the next Monkey Trial be in Ohio?”, Case Western University, Strosacker Auditorium

  that statement is wrong. Now that's not an incidental statement, that is the heart and soul of the Intelligent Design argument, and in this case it turns out to be wrong. Now it's even wronger than that [laughter] because it turns out that not only do these proteins make up the Type-III Secretory Apparatus but almost every protein in the bacerial flagellum is strongly homologous to proteins that have other functions elsewhere in the cell.

Adverb

wrong (comparative more wrong, superlative most wrong)

1. (informal) In a way that isn't right; incorrectly, wrongly.

Translations

Noun

wrong (plural wrongs)

1. Something that is immoral or not good.

2. An instance of wronging someone (sometimes with possessive to indicate the wrongdoer).
   • 1597, John Dowland, The First Booke of Songes or Ayres, Part V

     Can she excuse my wrongs with Virtue's cloak? Shall I call her good when she proves unkind?

3. The incorrect or unjust position or opinion.
   • 1592, William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part III, Act IV, Scene I, line 101

     I blame not her: she could say little less; She had the wrong.

4. The opposite of right; the concept of badness.
   • 1607, William Shakespeare, Timon of Athens, Act IV, Scene III, line 28

     Thus much of this will make Black white, foul fair, wrong right, Base noble, old young, coward valiant.

Synonyms

• wrength

Derived terms

• in the wrong

Translations

Verb

wrong (third-person singular simple present wrongs, present participle wronging, simple past and past participle wronged)

1. To treat unjustly; to injure or harm.

   The dealer wronged us by selling us this lemon of a car.

   • 1591, William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part I, Act II, Scene IV, line 109

     Thou dost then wrong me, as that slaughterer doth Which giveth many wounds when one will kill.

2. To deprive of some right, or to withhold some act of justice.
   • 1597, William Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part II, Act IV, Scene I, line 121

     ... And might by no suit gain our audience. When we are wrong'd and would unfold our griefs, We are denied access unto his person Even by those men that most have done us wrong.

3. To slander; to impute evil to unjustly.
   • 1598, William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Act III, Scene II, line 121

     O masters! if I were dispos'd to stir Your hearts and minds to mutiny and rage, I should do Brutus wrong, and Cassius wrong, Who (you all know) are honorable men. I will not do them wrong; I rather choose To wrong the dead, to wrong myself and you, Than I will wrong such honorable men.

Translations

Derived terms

See also

• wronged
• wrung

Anagrams

• grown

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vr??/
• Rhymes: -??

Noun

wrong m (plural wrongen, diminutive wrongetje n)

1. (heraldry) wreath, a ring made of two strips of cloth intertwined used on top of helmets to soften any blow

Verb

wrong

1. singular past indicative of wringen

Middle English

Alternative forms

• wrang, wronge, wronk, wornge, rong

Etymology

From Old English wrang; ultimately from Proto-Germanic *wrangaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wr?n?/, [wr???]
• (later ME) IPA^(key): /r?n?/, [r???]

Noun

wrong (plural wronges)

1. A wrong, injustice
2. A (moral) wrong, evil, wrongdoing, sin
3. injury, harm
4. mistake, misstep

Descendants

• English: wrong
• Northumbrian: wrang
• Scots: wrang

References

• “wrong, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-03-18.

Adjective

wrong

1. wicked, evil, (morally) wrong
2. unjust, unfair, illegitimate
3. unlawful, illegal
4. inappropriate
5. inaccurate, mistaken
6. curved, crooked, bent

Related terms

• wrongful
• wrongfully

Descendants

• English: wrong
• Northumbrian: wrang
• Scots: wrang

References

• “wrong, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-03-18.

English

Etymology

From sense +? -less. Compare Saterland Frisian sinloos (“senseless, foolish”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?s?nsl?s/
• Hyphenation: sense?less

Adjective

senseless (comparative more senseless, superlative most senseless)

1. Without feeling or consciousness; deprived of sensation.

   The blow to his head rendered him senseless, he didn't awaken until he was in the ambulance.

   Synonyms: unconscious, insensible

2. Lacking meaning or purpose; without common sense.

   What a senseless waste of money.

   Synonyms: pointless, meaningless

3. Without a discernible meaning or purpose, especially of a violent or evil act.

   The school shooting was a senseless act of violence.

4. Without consideration, awareness or sound judgement

   He took senseless risks, not even aware of the danger he was in.

   Synonyms: unreasonable, unwise, stupid

Related terms

• sense
• senseful
• senselessly
• senselessness

Translations

See also

• (deprived of sensation): ageusia, analgesia, anosmia, blind, deaf, hypoesthesia, numbness, paralysis

References

• senseless in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• senseless in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.