aimless

adjective

aim·​less ˈām-ləs 

: without aim or purpose : not having a goal or purpose

… we would not get to sit on the verandah drinking cold beer at the end of the day, starting up aimless conversations with other couples …

—Alexandra Kennedy

Some years, you feel that nothing much is being made except plotless tales about aimless young people wasting time …

—Robin Buss

The wind blew, the shad were nowhere to be found, even steady use of our fish locator and aimless trolling around the lakes failed to provoke a single strike.

—Steve Davis

aimlessly adverb

… whenever they had the chance, he and Zave would climb the steep streets and walk aimlessly beneath the arching trees, looking at the mansions.

—James A. Michener

aimlessness noun

… my friends are all prematurely successful in their worthwhile, absorbing careers, and I am frightening my parents and maybe even myself with my aimlessness.

—Daphne Uviller

Synonyms

• arbitrary
• catch-as-catch-can
• desultory
• erratic
• haphazard
• helter-skelter
• hit-or-miss
• random
• scattered
• slapdash
• stray

Examples of aimless in a Sentence

he enjoyed taking aimless walks through the park

Recent Examples on the Web

This is a very critical difference because a vision without execution stays a dream, and execution without a vision becomes aimless. —Expert Panel®, Forbes, 30 Sep. 2024

Slowness and making viewers aware of deceptively aimless pacing are perhaps the definitive characteristics of Wang’s output. —Josh Slater-Williams, IndieWire, 13 Aug. 2024

Here, aimless hack ‘n slashing will still go far, but there’s more nuance to everything. —Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 7 Aug. 2024

Often, the hidden gems come into focus on aimless drives along the coast—golden bars of sand tucked under cliff faces frequented by locals in the know. —Connor Sturges, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1583, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

aimless

adjective

aim·​less

ˈām-ləs

: lacking a goal or purpose

aimless wandering

aimlessly adverb

aimlessness noun