aimless

adjective

aim·​less ˈām-ləs How to pronounce aimless (audio)
: 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

Examples of aimless in a Sentence

he enjoyed taking aimless walks through the park
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Especially in times of market uncertainty or volatility, our attention tends to be sucked into the bottomless vortex of pointless prognostication and aimless activity. Tim Maurer, Forbes, 16 Mar. 2025 Koogler is interested in human smallness, in our cosmic lack of control, and the softness of his gaze can render Deep Blue Sound’s exploration of existential uncertainty wonderfully funny and affecting in some moments, diffused and aimless in others. Sara Holdren, Vulture, 6 Mar. 2025 Her dull, aimless life in Chicago as a cleaner who's stuck with her relatives is the opposite of special though. Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 20 Feb. 2025 Oh, the delicious irony of Mr. Only the Ivies Count Lest Your Child Fail to Launch having a daughter who’s in an aimless 19th month of a gap year between high school and college. Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 21 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for aimless

Word History

First Known Use

1583, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of aimless was in 1583

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Aimless.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aimless. Accessed 28 Mar. 2025.

Kids Definition

aimless

adjective
aim·​less
ˈām-ləs
: lacking a goal or purpose
aimless wandering
aimlessly adverb
aimlessness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on aimless

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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