aimless

adjective

aim·​less ˈām-ləs 

: without aim or purpose : not having a goal or purpose

… we would not get to sit on the verandah drinking cold beer at the end of the day, starting up aimless conversations with other couples …

—Alexandra Kennedy

Some years, you feel that nothing much is being made except plotless tales about aimless young people wasting time …

—Robin Buss

The wind blew, the shad were nowhere to be found, even steady use of our fish locator and aimless trolling around the lakes failed to provoke a single strike.

—Steve Davis

aimlessly adverb

… whenever they had the chance, he and Zave would climb the steep streets and walk aimlessly beneath the arching trees, looking at the mansions.

—James A. Michener

aimlessness noun

… my friends are all prematurely successful in their worthwhile, absorbing careers, and I am frightening my parents and maybe even myself with my aimlessness.

—Daphne Uviller

Synonyms

• arbitrary
• catch-as-catch-can
• desultory
• erratic
• haphazard
• helter-skelter
• hit-or-miss
• random
• scattered
• slapdash
• stray

Examples of aimless in a Sentence

he enjoyed taking aimless walks through the park

Recent Examples on the Web

Critical possessions no longer feel aimless, as the Suns are flowing into their offense with intention. —Shane Young, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024

Without his six other members filling the space around him, and in the absence of a packed schedule keeping him hurdling full speed ahead, RM (born Kim Namjoon) is loose, unguarded, often introspective and occasionally gleefully aimless. —Mackenzie Schmidt, People.com, 4 Dec. 2024

This organization seems totally aimless in its direction at this point. —Josh Yohe, The Athletic, 1 July 2024

But a few years ago, the Hollywood icon was feeling aimless. —Charlotte Collins, Architectural Digest, 16 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1583, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

aimless

adjective

aim·​less

ˈām-ləs

: lacking a goal or purpose

aimless wandering

aimlessly adverb

aimlessness noun