Words / B2

MOHSHUNL-uh-s/ˈməʊʃnləs/

Motionless means not moving at all: hold it motionless; lie motionless. Still is everyday; stationary is for vehicles. Hold the apparatus while you read. Mix-up: motion is movement (already elsewhere); emotion is feeling (already in the dictionary). Do not write motionless for “without a motion in a meeting”.

Meaning

Not moving at all.

Examples

• “Hold the apparatus motionless while you take the reading.”
• “The casualty lay motionless, which is the first-aid sense.”

Good to know

motionless; remain motionless. Everyday: still. Vehicle twin: stationary. Trap: motion / emotion. Sciences, PE, and first aid. No movement, not a committee proposal.

Near in meaning

still

New