---
title: toothless — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «toothless» in the school dictionary: Toothless means having no teeth, or having lost teeth: a toothless baby, a toothless grin. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# toothless

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Toothless, people, one, baby, brother, Grandpa · **What happens:** mean, have, lose, make, obey, enforce · **To what, where:** teeth, lost teeth, real power, people, toothless rule, big toothless smile · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«toothless» in the school dictionary: its 3 meanings for a pupil and its 8 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [toothless in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/toothless.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Toothless means having no teeth, or having lost teeth: a toothless baby, a toothless grin.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:toothless:m1:1
# text = Toothless means having no teeth, or having lost teeth: a toothless baby, a toothless grin.
1	Toothless	toothless	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	having	have	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	2	ccomp	_	_
4	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	5	det	_	_
5	teeth	tooth	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
7	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	having	have	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	3	advcl	_	_
9	lost	lose	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	10	amod	_	_
10	teeth	tooth	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	14	punct	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
13	toothless	toothless	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	baby	baby	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
16	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
17	toothless	toothless	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	18	amod	_	_
18	grin	grin	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | Toothless |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **have** | gerund |  | no teeth |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent tooth=Patient |
| 3 | **have** | gerund |  | lost teeth |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent tooth=Patient |
| 4 | **lose** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn succeed-74-3-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Toothless also means having no real power to make people obey: a toothless law, a toothless rule that no one enforces.

<!-- fold The tree, 21 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:toothless:m2:1
# text = Toothless also means having no real power to make people obey: a toothless law, a toothless rule that no one enforces.
1	Toothless	toothless	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	also	also	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
3	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	having	have	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	3	ccomp	_	_
5	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	7	det	_	_
6	real	real	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	power	power	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
8	to	to	PART	TO	_	9	mark	_	_
9	make	make	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	advcl	_	_
10	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	obj	_	_
11	obey	obey	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	15	punct	_	_
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
14	toothless	toothless	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	amod	_	_
15	law	law	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	19	punct	_	_
17	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	19	det	_	_
18	toothless	toothless	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	19	amod	_	_
19	rule	rule	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	appos	_	_
20	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	23	obj	_	_
21	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	22	det	_	_
22	one	one	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	23	nsubj	_	_
23	enforces	enforce	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	19	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | Toothless |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **have** | gerund |  | no real power |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent power=Patient |
| 3 | **make** | to-infinitive |  | people |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 4 | **obey** | infinitive | people *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn abide\_by-93.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 5 | **enforce** | present | no one | a toothless rule |  |  |  |  | vn enforce-63 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent that=Theme |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Toothless can also mean feeble or useless, as an insult.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:toothless:m3:1
# text = Toothless can also mean feeble or useless, as an insult.
1	Toothless	toothless	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	also	also	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	mean	mean	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	feeble	feeble	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	xcomp	_	_
6	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	useless	useless	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
9	as	as	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	insult	insult	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | can | Toothless |  |  |  |  | feeble *property* | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The baby gave us a big toothless smile.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:toothless:x1:1
# text = The baby gave us a big toothless smile.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	baby	baby	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	gave	give	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	us	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	iobj	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
6	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
7	toothless	toothless	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	smile	smile	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **give** | past | the baby | a big toothless smile | us |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP-Dative NP»: agent=Agent we=Recipient smile=Theme |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
After losing two front teeth, my brother had a toothless grin.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:toothless:x2:1
# text = After losing two front teeth, my brother had a toothless grin.
1	After	after	SCONJ	IN	_	2	mark	_	_
2	losing	lose	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	9	advcl	_	_
3	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
4	front	front	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	teeth	tooth	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
7	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	brother	brother	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
9	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
11	toothless	toothless	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	grin	grin	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **lose** | gerund | my brother *not said here* | two front teeth |  |  |  |  | vn succeed-74-3-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent tooth=Eventuality |
| 2 | **have** | past | my brother | a toothless grin |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent grin=Patient |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Grandpa takes out his false teeth and looks toothless.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:toothless:x3:1
# text = Grandpa takes out his false teeth and looks toothless.
1	Grandpa	grandpa	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	takes	take	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	out	out	ADP	RP	_	2	compound:prt	_	_
4	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
5	false	false	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	teeth	tooth	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	looks	look	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
9	toothless	toothless	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **take out** | present | Grandpa | Grandpa's false teeth |  |  |  |  | vn remove-10.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent tooth=Theme |
| 2 | **look** | present | Grandpa *not said here* |  |  |  |  | toothless *property* | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V ADJ»: agent=Stimulus |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Without fines, the new rule is toothless.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:toothless:x4:1
# text = Without fines, the new rule is toothless.
1	Without	without	ADP	IN	_	2	case	_	_
2	fines	fine	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	new	new	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	rule	rule	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
7	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
8	toothless	toothless	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | the new rule |  |  |  |  | without fines; toothless *property* | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Critics called the committee a toothless watchdog.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:toothless:x5:1
# text = Critics called the committee a toothless watchdog.
1	Critics	critic	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
2	called	call	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	1	acl	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	committee	committee	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	toothless	toothless	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	watchdog	watchdog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **call** | participle | Critics *not said here* | the committee |  |  |  |  | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent committee=Recipient |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the film, Toothless is a black Night Fury dragon.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:toothless:x6:1
# text = In the film, Toothless is a black Night Fury dragon.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	film	film	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	Toothless	Toothless	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	cop	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
8	black	black	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
9	Night	Night	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	10	compound	_	_
10	Fury	Fury	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	11	compound	_	_
11	dragon	dragon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	11	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Toothless | a black Fury dragon |  | the film |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Some whales are toothless and filter food instead.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:toothless:x7:1
# text = Some whales are toothless and filter food instead.
1	Some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	2	det	_	_
2	whales	whale	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
3	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	toothless	toothless	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	filter	filter	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
7	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
8	instead	instead	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | some whales |  |  |  |  | toothless *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **filter** | present | some whales *not said here* | food |  |  |  | instead *property* | vn wipe\_instr-10.4.2 «NP V NP.initial\_location»: agent=Agent food=Initial\_Location |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
What have we to do with this toothless fool?

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:toothless:x8:1
# text = What have we to do with this toothless fool?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	5	obj	_	_
2	have	have	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
3	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	do	do	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
6	with	with	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	this	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	9	det	_	_
8	toothless	toothless	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	fool	fool	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **do** | present | we |  |  |  |  | with this toothless fool | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent what=Eventuality |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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