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
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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
-
The trouble is that in and of themselves, trade deficits (or surpluses) are meaningless measures of a nation’s economic health.—
Steve Forbes,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2025
-
Ever since Top Gun: Maverick, Cruise’s films have imposed a sense of duty on audiences — a different purpose than other meaningless, direct-to-streaming content with zero purpose.—
Armond White,
National Review,
23 May 2025
Adjective
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Additionally, as this week’s stock market slump revealed, haphazard threats do not happen in a vacuum.—
Aroop Mukharji,
Foreign Affairs,
14 Mar. 2025
-
In lieu of federal regulation, there was a haphazard patchwork of state and local laws surrounding certain foods pre-1906.—
Lauren Leffer,
Popular Science,
1 May 2025
Adjective
-
In total, 27 people were taken to the hospital, including two with serious injuries, and 20 others were treated at the scene for minor injuries, according to Dave Kitchin of North West Ambulance Service.—
Miranda Jeyaretnam,
Time,
27 May 2025
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Troopers said the two boys were hospitalized with minor injuries.—
Olivia Lloyd,
Miami Herald,
27 May 2025
Adjective
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That is why the reappraisal of Biden’s physical and mental abilities while in office has so far done little to reassure the public.—
W. James Antle III,
The Washington Examiner,
30 May 2025
-
The cuts could include the elimination of bus routes that get relatively little use and less frequent service on some popular routes.—
David Garrick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
30 May 2025
Adjective
-
The character who can go through walls is useless, because beyond the walls is nothing but dirt.—
Katy Waldman,
New Yorker,
24 May 2025
-
For one, any melasma treatment is practically useless without them.—
Jenny Berg,
Allure,
24 May 2025
Adjective
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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
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By virtue of no state income tax, Florida, Tampa Bay, Vegas, Dallas and Nashville do enjoy a slight competitive advantage, but the first 14 Cup champions of the cap era didn’t share that same edge.—
Murat Ates,
New York Times,
31 May 2025
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Injuries can range from a slight stretching of the ligament to a complete tear, where the knee becomes unstable.—
Paul McClure
May 31,
New Atlas,
31 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Purposeless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purposeless. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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