ˈbrethlə̇s adjective
Etymology: Middle English brethles, from breth breath + -les -less
1.
a. : not breathing : showing suspension of breath
b. : dead
2.
a. : out of breath : panting or gasping for breath after strenuous activity
b. : leaving one breathless : strenuous
the pace was rather breathless — A.H.Vandenberg †1951
c. : out of breath or holding one's breath because of fear, suspense, intense interest, awe, or other strong emotion
breathless at the thought of what I had done — Katherine Mansfield
breathless with a strange, painful, yielding ardor — Morley Callaghan
d. : bringing about or marked by a being out of breath or of holding one's breath : intense , gripping , dominating
the air was so charged with the breathless tension — Hugh Walpole
caught up into breathless crisis — John Buchan
e. : suffering from dyspnea
3. : marked by complete stillness of the air : oppressive and close because of absence of breezes
the summer came, breathless and sultry — W.S.Maugham
sticky with sirocco moisture under the breathless awning — Norman Douglas
• breath·less·ly adverb