purposelessadj.adv.
/ˈpəːpəsləs/, U.S. /ˈpərpəsləs/ 1. Done, made, or produced without purpose or design; existing for no reason. †Occasionally as adv. (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > unintentional or unplanned character > [adjective] > unintentional or involuntary > aimless
purposeless1552
aimless1583
wayless1605
shapelessa1616
designless1649
scopeless1666
unmeaning1680
objectless1797
motiveless1798
purportless1802
driftless1806
adrift1818
unpurpose-like1825
unpurposed1827
goalless1828
nothingarian1859
1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Purposeles, absurdus. Purposeles, or wythout purpose or reason, absurde.
1596 L. Keymis 2nd Voy. Guiana in R. Hakluyt Principal Nauigations (1599) III. 681 By this I perceiued, that to stay longer for him..would bee purposelesse.
1622 Bp. J. Hall Contempl. VI. O.T. xvi. 61 There are busie spirits that loue to cary newes, though thanklesse, though purposelesse.
a1656 Bp. J. Hall Shaking of Olive-tree (1660) ii. 179 Praier is ever joined with fasting in all our humiliations; without which the emptinesse of our mawes were but a vain and purposeless ceremony.
1748 R. Leighton Wks. I. 502 If nothing but Wind, Vanity and Folly, the Speech will be airy, and vain, and purposeless.
1835 J. Ross Narr. Second Voy. North-west Passage vi. 80 A purposeless waste of time.
1883 Cent. Mag. Sept. 789/1 The unworthiness of ‘idle words’ and vacuous, purposeless gossip.
1935 W. Faulkner Pylon 17 A pocked desolation of some terrific and apparently purposeless reclamation across which the shell road ran.
1991 Rolling Stone 21 Feb. 45/2 The seven concept clips have affectingly cute but ultimately purposeless scenarios.
2. Having no purpose, plan, or aim.
ΚΠ
1826 New Monthly Mag. 16 264 Endless, purposeless visitants; droppers in, as they are called.
1871 S. Smiles Character i. 12 Without a certain degree of practical efficient force..life will be indefinite and purposeless.
1925 F. S. Fitzgerald Great Gatsby iii. 51 The only place in the garden where a single man could linger without looking purposeless and alone.
1978 M. Cox Structuring Therapeutic Process ii. 46 An awareness of purposeless drifting rather than having any fixed point of reference or goal.
2002 D. Leon Wilful Behaviour (2003) xxi. 255 Brunetti found himself purposeless and without the will to do any specific thing.
Derivatives
ˈpurposelessly adv. in a purposeless manner; aimlessly.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > unintentional or unplanned character > [adverb] > unintentionally or involuntarily > aimlessly
about1638
designlessly1659
aimlessly1818
purposelessly1840
round1848
divaguely1857
objectlessly1860
motivelessly1867
unmeaningly1871
footlessly1916
1840 R. M. Milnes Poetry for the People 198 The Victor, doomed to die some other day, Enjoyed the plaudits purposelessly earned.
1859 Chambers's Jrnl. 11 82 She was..purposelessly unsympathetic.
1920 Elem. School Jrnl. 20 426 While he dawdles and fusses with office routine and chats purposelessly.
1991 F. King Ant Colony (1992) viii. 61 He had been merely wandering purposelessly down one street after another.
ˈpurposelessness n. lack of purpose, object, or usefulness; aimlessness, uselessness.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > unintentional or unplanned character > [noun] > unintentional or involuntary quality > aimlessness
driftlessness1801
aimlessness1828
purposelessness1845
objectlessness1862
unwill1899
1845 Q. Rev. June 99 One of her greatest charms..is that very purposelessness resulting from the more desultory nature of her education.
1941 Jrnl. Aesthetics & Art Crit. 1 ii/iii. 105 In beauty the purposelessness of life is enjoyed as pure appearance.
1999 Lingua Franca Nov. 21 The man who largely made his name insisting on the purposelessness of life has found a place in his heart for religion.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
adj.adv.1552