flightless

Adjective

flightless (not comparable)

1. (usually) Describing kinds of birds that normally cannot fly, such as the penguin, ostrich, and emu.
   • Near-synonyms: apterous, wingless
   • The indigenous fauna of Australia and New Zealand featured an especially interesting array of flightless birds.

   Synonyms:

   nonflying, nonvolant, apterous, wingless

   Antonyms:

   flying, volant

2. (uncommon) Describing an individual bird that normally would be able to fly but in this case cannot, such as an injured sparrow.
   • The animal shelter has a flightless sparrow named Shiny, who seems to make up for his disability by being an avid runner.
3. (humorous, uncommon) Suddenly deprived of a scheduled (airline) flight by its cancellation.
   • Oh great, some wind is blowing in Chicago, so now I'm flightless in Seattle, because this airline can't cope!