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
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
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
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
Holman W. Jenkins, WSJ, 10 May 2022
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for purposeless
Adjective
-
Hours of aimless exploring in Lafayette, Louisiana led us to this glowing downtown fixture just in time for sunset.—
Symiah Dorsey,
Southern Living,
21 Sep. 2025
-
Now is the time to wage war, not through aimless violence, but with a legal and rational crackdown on the forces that are desperately trying to annihilate our nation.—
Brooke L. Rollins,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Because the Patriots would go on to score 42 consecutive points before a meaningless touchdown drive by the Panthers in the final minutes, Canales’ head-scratching call the play before Jones’ return has drawn scrutiny.—
Joseph Person,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
-
The big numbers coming into the Giants’ otherwise meaningless season finale were 163, 217 and 30.—
Evan Webeck,
Mercury News,
29 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
For almost the entire bloated two-hour run time, Black keeps his foot on the accelerator in the hope that audiences won’t notice the haphazard, barely logical plotting.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Sep. 2025
-
Working with a financial advisor can help turn haphazard financial preparations into a clearer retirement path.—
Lorie Konish,
CNBC,
25 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Russell’s crash in 2023 showed that a minor mistake can wipe you off the podium.—
Madeline Coleman,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
-
In susceptible people, the immune system reacts too strongly to minor exposures, creating chronic inflammation.—
Daryl Austin,
USA Today,
7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Shane Hubbard, a UW-Madison research scientist specializing in damage and loss estimation from disasters, said that misunderstandings of what type of insurance offers the most protection result in homeowners being left with hefty bills and little government assistance.—
Tamia Fowlkes,
jsonline.com,
6 Oct. 2025
-
The clues have been there from the start, the little touches that aligned Grasso’s bifurcated personality with Tom and Robbie’s.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
6 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
But having 10 power play opportunities also made the game somewhat useless.—
Arpon Basu,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
-
With her charger useless and the screen showing a dangerously low percentage, the reality sank in.—
Ashley Vega,
PEOPLE,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Even before the arrival of artificial intelligence, the instant availability of information and distraction on the internet was leading students to wonder if the labor of learning was boring and potentially pointless.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
30 Sep. 2025
-
But to hold on to their negotiating leverage, Senate Democrats will likely have to vote against a bill to temporarily extend government funding on Tuesday, just hours before a shutdown — an uncomfortable position for a party that has long denounced shutdowns as pointless and destructive.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
29 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
This marked a slight increase on figures from August, during which time Moscow claimed to have downed 2,786 Ukrainian drones at an average rate of nearly 90 per day.—
David Brennan,
ABC News,
1 Oct. 2025
-
International undergraduate enrollment stayed the same, with a slight increase in international freshmen, Miner said.—
David Ferrara,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
30 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Purposeless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purposeless. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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