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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For a team that felt aimless — weeks before the Haliburton trade, the Pacers’ starting five against the Golden State Warriors consisted of Keifer Sykes, Chris Duarte, Justin Holiday, Goga Bitadze and Torrey Craig — those moves changed everything.—
Zak Keefer,
New York Times,
21 May 2025
-
Those examples were everywhere as the team seemed to make a relatively aimless pass through the regular season.—
Sam Amick,
New York Times,
1 May 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
-
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
-
Troopers said the two boys were hospitalized with minor injuries.—
Olivia Lloyd,
Miami Herald,
27 May 2025
Adjective
-
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
-
In Madrid, little is known about Bellingham’s social life.—
Gregg Evans,
New York Times,
30 May 2025
Adjective
-
And beyond… Generalizations can be either good or bad, useful or useless.—
Eli Amdur,
Forbes.com,
24 May 2025
-
For one, any melasma treatment is practically useless without them.—
Jenny Berg,
Allure,
24 May 2025
Adjective
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Cautious of what some may think of unnecessarily flamboyant decor, Mulvaney wasn't aiming for pointless blasts of feminine touches everywhere.—
Moná Thomas,
People.com,
22 May 2025
-
Watching a rearview mirror to guard against a repeat attack is pointless.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
8 May 2025
Adjective
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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
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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
Cite this Entry
“Purposeless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purposeless. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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