purposeless

adjective

Definition of purposelessnext
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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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of purposeless Religion gives meaning to human lives, which otherwise can feel purposeless. — WSJ, 21 Dec. 2021 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 See All Example Sentences for purposeless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for purposeless
  1. aimless
  2. meaningless
  3. haphazard
  4. minor
  5. little
  6. useless
  7. pointless
  8. slight
Adjective
  • Last year, the offense was aimless, punchless and ill-suited for Gio Lopez’s skill set.
    — The Athletic College Football Staff, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Dark skies, aimless days and spring wildflowers draw many people.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of aimless
Adjective
  • The grand scale of cosmic time reminds her (and us) that social mores and strictures are tiny, meaningless things, that what matters is passion and freedom.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2026
  • The world’s increasingly pro-Chinese attitude is not meaningless.
    — Adam Y. Liu, Foreign Affairs, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of meaningless
Adjective
  • However, industry leaders caution against haphazard AI adoption, emphasizing that strategic, disciplined implementation is crucial to avoid significant financial pitfalls.
    — Alison Coleman, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Communication with employees about the requirement to move to new offices has been haphazard, workers at six agencies said.
    — Chiara Eisner, NPR, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of haphazard
Adjective
  • Ayari returned to Fabian Hurzeler’s midfield alongside Pascal Gross in Saturday’s 1-1 home draw against Leeds United, having missed the 4-3 defeat at Chelsea with a minor injury.
    — Andy Naylor, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • All co-defendants are accused of failing to protect a minor and negligence.
    — Madeline Morrison, NBC news, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of minor
Adjective
  • That’s right — after three straight Friday-night deadlines, Gameweek Four gets under way at 3pm on Saturday, handing you that little bit of extra time to agonise over the right moves for the next round of action.
    — Ben Dinnery, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Jongmin Lee, a quantum sensing scientist at SNL, has been working to build an extremely small version of this device, one that consumes very little power and can be used in the field.
    — Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of little
Adjective
  • Darth Vader sports useless tape recorder-style buttons on his chest plate.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • David Shnaiderov, who directs the Nuclear Quantum division at Quantum X Labs, pointed out that simulating particle transport is useless without a practical way to represent real physical shapes.
    — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of useless
Adjective
  • Elevating this pointless statistic to the level of a national emergency never made any sense.
    — Editorial Board, Washington Post, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Their views ranged from seeing the gathering as pointless to potentially harmful for battleground candidates.
    — Zac Anderson, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of pointless
Adjective
  • The slight worry is that Zheng will run out of gas at some point after coming through the qualifying tournament and winning six matches in New York.
    — Ava Wallace, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026
  • For all their advantages, quantum technologies are extremely sensitive, and these devices can be thrown out of gear by the slightest changes in temperature or environmental noise.
    — Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of slight

Browse Nearby Words

purposefulness
purposeless
purposely
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Cite this Entry

“Purposeless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purposeless. Accessed 13 Sep. 2026.

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