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
-
Ari is aimless and has made the executive decision to wean himself off his antidepressants; Sam is tortured by the prospect of going straight from college into a boring and unfulfilling career at Morgan Stanley.—
Hershal Pandya,
Vulture,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Liam, once aimless and unhoused, quickly finds purpose in the charade as a husband and father.—
Sam Bodrojan,
IndieWire,
7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
For example, some parents may wonder if these behaviors are related to things like stimming (repetitive movement or sounds), echolalia (meaningless repetition of words), or self-regulation behaviors.—
Wendy Wisner,
Parents,
8 Sep. 2025
-
The story unfolds in three distinct chapters as the crisis goes up the chain of command, with each part of the film showing how all our systems and technology are ultimately meaningless in the face of such destructive power.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
6 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
In this instance, Winston, after his mutation, is looking clean house on Bob Garbinger (Kevin Bacon), a corrupt businessman whose haphazard ways led to his terminal illness and skirts treating him for it.—
Tim Lammers,
Forbes.com,
29 Aug. 2025
-
But the study said many students, parents and school officials felt the roll-out of the policy was haphazard and that enforcement has been inconsistent.—
Scott Travis,
Sun Sentinel,
24 July 2025
Adjective
-
The two had a minor pull-apart but Adam Pearce screamed it down.—
Alfred Konuwa,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
-
The compound 7-OH is a naturally occurring substance in the kratom plant (Mitragyna speciosa), according to the FDA, but only a minor component, less than 2%, of the alkaloid content in natural kratom leaves.—
Natalie Neysa Alund,
USA Today,
15 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The Olympic silver medalist ran textbook races all season with little to no critiques on form and competitive nature.—
Katelyn Hutchison,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
-
Most available positions are informal, poorly compensated and offer little stability or room for career growth.—
Nir Kshetri,
The Conversation,
14 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Digital fingerprinting collates an array of data from your phone — your IP address, device model and OS, time zone, setup and anything else if can get — to create a unique identifier in aggregate, even if each individual data snippet us useless on its own.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
-
Never mind that large language models have so far proven useless at 95% of the companies that have made their workforces try to use them, researchers from MIT recently found.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Trouble has obviously been brewing in Europe after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its continuation of a pointless war defined by the Russian regime’s willingness to engage in war crimes.—
Steven Greenhut,
Oc Register,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Spending valuable hours on pointless revenue.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The night’s slight chill is perfect for a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon by an indoor fireplace or outdoor firepit.—
Michael Goldstein,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
-
Julie McNamara is back developing series for CBS Studios — with one slight difference.—
Tony Maglio,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Purposeless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purposeless. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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