tasteless

Everyday

1. Tasteless food has little or no flavour. tree →
2. Something tasteless is rude, unkind or not suitable, like a tasteless joke. tree →
3. Tasteless can describe clothes or decorations that look cheap or ugly. tree →

In the lessons

In science lessons on senses, water is described as tasteless, odourless and colourless. In cooking, unseasoned food can be tasteless. In kindness lessons, a tasteless joke hurts or upsets people and should be avoided. Phrases: «tasteless food», «a tasteless joke».

Examples

• Pure water is colourless, odourless and tasteless. tree →
• The soup was tasteless, so we added salt. tree →
• When I had a cold, everything was tasteless. tree →
• Making fun of someone's illness is a tasteless joke. tree →
• The hospital food was a bit tasteless. tree →
• Some poisonous gases are tasteless and odourless, so we use alarms. tree →
• ‘No,’ he replied, ‘the dishes are carefully cooked and sent up, but they are all so dreadfully tasteless.’ tree →

Note

Adjective: taste + -less (without). Opposite for food: «tasty»; opposite for behaviour: «tasteful». Trap: «distasteful» means unpleasant, close to the second sense. Carbon monoxide is tasteless and has no smell, which is why homes need detectors.