as in senselessly
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Recent Examples of pointlessly
Trump should ask himself whether stirring a hornet’s nest serves any purpose other than pointlessly alienating a benevolent neighbor that is beginning to pad its insurance policy by reaching out to non-hemispheric powers.
—
Daniel Depetris, Chicago Tribune, 27 Jan. 2026
My partner’s refusal to be comforted by this institutional food struck me sometimes as pointlessly obstructive and at other times as a sign of self-respect.
—Rachel Cusk, New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2025
Few endeavors could signal virtue as pointlessly or gratuitously.
—Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 8 Aug. 2025
Daniel Depetris, Chicago Tribune, 27 Jan. 2026
My partner’s refusal to be comforted by this institutional food struck me sometimes as pointlessly obstructive and at other times as a sign of self-respect.
—Rachel Cusk, New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2025
Few endeavors could signal virtue as pointlessly or gratuitously.
—Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 8 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pointlessly
Adverb
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Amid this slew of senselessly avoidant, irrational behavior, Duchovny’s performance emerges as the most credible.—
Natalia Winkelman,
IndieWire,
27 Jan. 2026
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Fifteen innocent souls – including a Holocaust survivor, a rabbi and a child – were senselessly murdered while celebrating the first night of Chanukah, the Festival of Light.—
Tracy Wright,
FOXNews.com,
14 Dec. 2025
Adverb
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Parents can manage logistics while letting their sons own decisions, even imperfectly.—
Dr. Liz Doe Stone,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
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Winnicott insisted that love, imperfectly given, was enough to get a child started.—
Rebecca Mead,
New Yorker,
19 Jan. 2026
Adverb
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But the campaign against Good is different—because The Homeland takes particular and perverse interest in women deemed insufficiently reverent of hearth and home.—
Ta-Nehisi Coates,
Vanity Fair,
26 Jan. 2026
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These rules would otherwise allow other countries to impose top-up taxes when profits are insufficiently taxed.—
Kelly Phillips Erb,
Forbes.com,
24 Jan. 2026
Adverb
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Scally had already struggled after dealing inadequately with a cross, which let the high-flying visitors score their first.—
Greg O'Keeffe,
New York Times,
26 Jan. 2026
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The attorney general's office also said, because the district did not show how the plaintiffs could only inadequately represent them, intervention of right was not an available option, and that intervention would unnecessarily prolong the case.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
3 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pointlessly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pointlessly. Accessed 9 Feb. 2026.
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