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
-
Trump’s goal is to distract you from rising gas prices, his aimless war, ICE abuses, and the Epstein files.—
Jonathan Limehouse,
USA Today,
21 Mar. 2026
-
No surprise, then, that Kim is initially skeptical of Sean’s conspiracy theories, assuming her aimless husband to be fixating on trivial nonsense.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Spring training numbers are ultimately meaningless, but Garrett Crochet will likely be happy to put this camp behind him.—
Mac Cerullo,
Boston Herald,
21 Mar. 2026
-
Mary Shelley’s Frankenhole is lightly serialized, but following the ongoing story is not really the point; in a meta effort to convey how time is meaningless to the immortal, Stamatopoulos requested that the first season be aired in a random order.—
Eric Vilas-Boas,
Vulture,
18 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
All of this is a bit haphazard, and none of it is very deep or revealing.—
Naomi Fry,
New Yorker,
21 Mar. 2026
-
Lawmakers have accused the Justice Department of withholding too many files and criticized the agency for haphazard redactions that exposed intimate details about victims.—
Alanna Durkin Richer,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Even minor sparks or drifting embers can incite nearby foliage or grass, setting off a rapidly spreading fire.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
28 Mar. 2026
-
In a letter sent to students, the academic institution said there had been some minor damage to buildings but no injuries.—
Moriah Thomas,
CNN Money,
28 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Residents in the San Gabriel Valley are contending with a dramatic surge in black flies, a painful little pest known for biting around the eyes and necks of people and pets.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Mar. 2026
-
Plus, little baby leaves are thinner.—
AJ Willingham,
AJC.com,
28 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Bernadine appeared to be useless—or, worse, a potential double agent.—
David D. Kirkpatrick,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Sending your resume into the void has never felt more useless.—
Catherina Gioino,
Fortune,
23 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Other marketing jobs on RentAHuman seem equally pointless, like a $25 street promo for a cryptography startup, or a $5 job reviewing AI generated cartoons.—
Joe Wilkins,
Futurism,
25 Mar. 2026
-
But to go so far as to dismiss the past… Making a snide comment about the Cannes audience, which has always welcomed him warmly, was pointless and unfair.—
Elsa Keslassy,
Variety,
24 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Most predictor sites and betting services show Knueppel with a slight lead, but with Flagg fast surging since his March 5 return from a left midfoot sprain.—
Brad Townsend,
Dallas Morning News,
28 Mar. 2026
-
The key is to consciously combine the shades of green, either within a color family for a calm, elevated look or with slight contrasts to create tension.—
Jana Ackermann,
Glamour,
28 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Purposeless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purposeless. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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