as in randomly
without definite aim, direction, rule, or method
wandered aimlessly through the forest until we were hopelessly lost
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Recent Examples of aimlessly
Windshield after windshield smashed in Linden Surveillance video from a Linden apartment complex shows a person in the early hours of Monday morning drive up, get out of his vehicle and throw bricks through the windshields of parked cars, chucking them aimlessly from multiple launch points.
—
Allen Devlin, CBS News, 6 Apr. 2026
Scrolling your phone aimlessly can feel awkward.
—Lauren Schuster, Sacbee.com, 6 Apr. 2026
For six of the last seven years, this franchise has been wandering aimlessly through the wilderness of baseball purgatory.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 21 Mar. 2026
Alternatively, spend afternoons aimlessly wandering neighborhoods like Dorsoduro or Cannaregio, where small wine bars known as bacari serve local vino and cicchetti (think Venetian tapas like olives, crostini, and arancini).
—Lauren Dana Ellman, Travel + Leisure, 12 Mar. 2026
Locals consistently rave about FIG and Leon’s Oyster Shop, though wandering around aimlessly—especially on the city’s lively King Street—is part of the fun, too.
—Annie Daly, Vogue, 10 Mar. 2026
With no emotional attachment to Carter or their friends, Maria spends her days driving aimlessly around southern California and occasionally indulging in unengaged affairs.
—David Tucker, Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Mar. 2026
Verona almost won it in stoppage time but Kieron Bowie couldn’t keep his attempt on target after Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret flapped aimlessly at a cross.
—ABC News, 28 Feb. 2026
In less capable hands, these pieces could plod aimlessly and fade away, but Lawson knows how to wring complexity from a minimal set of elements.
—Dash Lewis, Pitchfork, 24 Feb. 2026
Allen Devlin, CBS News, 6 Apr. 2026
Scrolling your phone aimlessly can feel awkward.
—Lauren Schuster, Sacbee.com, 6 Apr. 2026
For six of the last seven years, this franchise has been wandering aimlessly through the wilderness of baseball purgatory.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 21 Mar. 2026
Alternatively, spend afternoons aimlessly wandering neighborhoods like Dorsoduro or Cannaregio, where small wine bars known as bacari serve local vino and cicchetti (think Venetian tapas like olives, crostini, and arancini).
—Lauren Dana Ellman, Travel + Leisure, 12 Mar. 2026
Locals consistently rave about FIG and Leon’s Oyster Shop, though wandering around aimlessly—especially on the city’s lively King Street—is part of the fun, too.
—Annie Daly, Vogue, 10 Mar. 2026
With no emotional attachment to Carter or their friends, Maria spends her days driving aimlessly around southern California and occasionally indulging in unengaged affairs.
—David Tucker, Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Mar. 2026
Verona almost won it in stoppage time but Kieron Bowie couldn’t keep his attempt on target after Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret flapped aimlessly at a cross.
—ABC News, 28 Feb. 2026
In less capable hands, these pieces could plod aimlessly and fade away, but Lawson knows how to wring complexity from a minimal set of elements.
—Dash Lewis, Pitchfork, 24 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for aimlessly
randomly
Adverb
-
Study participants were chosen randomly Both took part in risk-factor modification.—
CBS Miami Team,
CBS News,
10 Apr. 2026
-
The agency would randomly draw from a lottery of birthdays and numbers to establish the order that individuals would be inducted.—
Melina Khan,
USA Today,
9 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Aimlessly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/aimlessly. Accessed 12 Apr. 2026.
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