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
-
This one must have hurt for Titans fans, seeing their former head coach, sporting his familiar navy blue vest on the opposing sideline, coaching his new team in a blowout win while their own team still looks aimless.—
Doug Kyed,
Boston Herald,
19 Oct. 2025
-
After some aimless small talk, the old woman soon gets down to her real, sinister business.—
Frank Scheck,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
To me, that feels like a meaningless question in most cases, because the violence is here.—
Fiction Non Fiction,
Literary Hub,
23 Oct. 2025
-
If the cosmic ray bound turns out to be meaningless, r is allowed to be even lower.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
22 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The Craftsman-style bungalow was originally built in the 1940s and withstood several haphazard additions and renovations before Haury and Saikami got their hands on it.—
Linne Halpern,
Architectural Digest,
15 Oct. 2025
-
OpenAI’s messaging was haphazard to Hollywood.—
Winston Cho,
HollywoodReporter,
15 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Curing or drying potatoes thickens their skins, allows minor cuts and abrasions to heal, and makes spuds less likely to rot or shrivel in storage.—
Lauren Landers,
Better Homes & Gardens,
20 Oct. 2025
-
Prisoners are not allowed to keep money behind bars, but cash can be provided by family members to a commissary fund used to buy food, toiletries and other minor needs, according to the Prison Fellowship.—
Mark Price,
Miami Herald,
20 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Inside, two picnic tables were stacked on top of each other, leaving little room to climb.—
Quinn Clark,
jsonline.com,
27 Oct. 2025
-
During last week's episode, viewers saw Dylan dance with his little sister, Olivia, for Dedication Night on.—
Charlotte Phillipp,
PEOPLE,
26 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
But to borrow Manidis’s framework, the drive to create such a tool conflates useless toil with meaningful labor.—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
20 Oct. 2025
-
The rules of grammar were useless now, and never truly rules.—
Sam Lipsyte,
New Yorker,
19 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Fresh walls and old trims can be a pointless exercise, as shabby trims will attract attention for all the wrong reasons.—
Sophie Flaxman,
Better Homes & Gardens,
20 Oct. 2025
-
The majority of their group, including Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stützle, were held pointless.—
Julian McKenzie,
New York Times,
12 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Return with a slight counter-rotation and complete more reps as desired.—
Jakob Roze,
Health,
21 Oct. 2025
-
Looking ahead to 2026, Coke is projecting a slight tail wind to both its revenue and comparable earnings from currency fluctuations.—
Amelia Lucas,
CNBC,
21 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Purposeless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purposeless. Accessed 27 Oct. 2025.
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