as in aimless
having or seeming to have no purpose or reason
I have to go to another purposeless meeting tonight. purposeless suffering
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Recent Examples of purposeless
Marine biologists had thought that the pelvic bones were purposeless in the marine environment, and would eventually disappear given another million or so years of evolution.
—
Carl Engelking, Discover Magazine, 9 Sep. 2014
But here’s a question: How much longer can the country afford to lure so many of its promising talents into a life of purposeless paper-pushing and legalized economic vandalism that antitrust has become?
—Holman W. Jenkins, WSJ, 10 May 2022
Religion gives meaning to human lives, which otherwise can feel purposeless.
—WSJ, 21 Dec. 2021
In How To Do Nothing, Jenny Odell talks about how the pursuit of productivity — driven by capitalism, competition, and consumption — has redirected our attention outward, leaving us feeling empty and purposeless.
—refinery29.com, 7 Sep. 2021
Although gender is effectively purposeless—if not irrelevant—in gaming, my brothers reflected society's obsession with forcing others to choose between pink or blue.
—Jamie Valentino, Wired, 22 June 2021
These protests are nearly all disingenuous, false and specious, and meant to utilize fear to continue a tragic and purposeless war.
—Matthew Hoh, CNN, 17 May 2021
In Mazars, Trump may yet be able to convince the lower courts that Congress’s rationale for seeking his financial records is too broad, too partisan, or too purposeless.
—Matt Ford, The New Republic, 9 July 2020
Well, given the malignant chaos of a purposeless universe, what’s one little false allegation in the scheme of things?
—USA TODAY, 24 Mar. 2020
Carl Engelking, Discover Magazine, 9 Sep. 2014
But here’s a question: How much longer can the country afford to lure so many of its promising talents into a life of purposeless paper-pushing and legalized economic vandalism that antitrust has become?
—Holman W. Jenkins, WSJ, 10 May 2022
Religion gives meaning to human lives, which otherwise can feel purposeless.
—WSJ, 21 Dec. 2021
In How To Do Nothing, Jenny Odell talks about how the pursuit of productivity — driven by capitalism, competition, and consumption — has redirected our attention outward, leaving us feeling empty and purposeless.
—refinery29.com, 7 Sep. 2021
Although gender is effectively purposeless—if not irrelevant—in gaming, my brothers reflected society's obsession with forcing others to choose between pink or blue.
—Jamie Valentino, Wired, 22 June 2021
These protests are nearly all disingenuous, false and specious, and meant to utilize fear to continue a tragic and purposeless war.
—Matthew Hoh, CNN, 17 May 2021
In Mazars, Trump may yet be able to convince the lower courts that Congress’s rationale for seeking his financial records is too broad, too partisan, or too purposeless.
—Matt Ford, The New Republic, 9 July 2020
Well, given the malignant chaos of a purposeless universe, what’s one little false allegation in the scheme of things?
—USA TODAY, 24 Mar. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for purposeless
Adjective
-
If being entirely aimless isn’t your thing, there is a way to add a bit of structure to it.—
Cody Godwin,
USA Today,
25 May 2025
-
The scenes here are clunky and don’t always move the story along — there’s an aimless but moderately funny one of Wolff speed dating.—
Jake Coyle,
Twin Cities,
24 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
And if your tax attorney crafts a great benefits plan for your business but fails to communicate the specifics to your retirement broker, the plan is meaningless.—
Kelly Phillips Erb,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2025
-
Charlie Comfort, a Democrat from the former early-voting state of Iowa, said the critiques of Murphy and Khanna are meaningless so long after the 2024 election.—
Naomi Lim,
The Washington Examiner,
24 May 2025
Adjective
-
Trump’s weaponization of tariffs is haphazard, and so are his punishing sanctions and trade controls, causing not just a few countries to look for other currency systems.—
T. Nelson Thompson,
Baltimore Sun,
3 June 2025
-
Democrats have slammed Musk's approach as haphazard and chaotic.—
Zac Anderson,
USA Today,
1 May 2025
Adjective
-
One allegedly threw a Molotov cocktail, and three deputies were struck, causing minor injuries, the department said.—
Ruben Vives,
Los Angeles Times,
8 June 2025
-
Two Chicago firefighters and a teen suffered minor injuries Saturday afternoon during an apartment fire in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, according to the Chicago Fire Department.—
Rebecca Johnson,
Chicago Tribune,
7 June 2025
Adjective
-
Her ensemble featured a simple yet striking little black dress with a semi-sheer bodice and a voluminous, inflated hemline, perfectly paired with dainty black mules and matching arm cuffs on both wrists.—
Mecca Pryor,
Essence,
10 June 2025
-
No matter how sweet, the little crocodile grows bigger and more difficult to care for.—
Leo Barraclough,
Variety,
10 June 2025
Adjective
-
The bad job, the relaxing sabbatical, the useless degree.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
9 June 2025
-
Through a charmingly off-kilter blend of 2D aesthetics, the film follows a protagonist who, after catching a highly contagious virus, must abandon her work as a personal assistant to a demanding boss and her duties at home with a useless husband and two needy kids.—
Jamie Lang,
Variety,
7 June 2025
Adjective
-
Allan Roth, a financial advisor well known to Forbes readers, says commodity futures are a zero-sum game and therefore pointless.—
William Baldwin,
Forbes.com,
24 May 2025
-
Lockdowns were authoritarian, masks were pointless, vaccines were unsafe.—
Daniel Immerwahr,
New Yorker,
19 May 2025
Adjective
-
Bure may not have meant it as a slight, but one of the more notable offenders was Growing Pains, which costarred her brother, Kirk Cameron.—
Jordan Hoffman,
EW.com,
13 June 2025
-
In a slight twist on the usual, the chefs not only get to choose their own sous-chefs, but only those sous-chefs have been flown to Italy for the occasion.—
Caroline Framke,
Vulture,
13 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Purposeless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purposeless. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.
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