directionless

Examples

• All

• I was pretty directionless when I left school.

  Anything Goes With James English

• And so I felt quite directionless without the crutch of throwing myself into my work.

• Social change is not directionless, although it is complex and dynamic.

  Academic text (2010)

• And so they go, directionless, carried off by a popular culture without content or substance.

  Academic text (1994)

• I came out here to California pretty directionless, didn't know what to do.

• Romney's campaign is so large and directionless that, if they win, it will be in spite of themselves.

  Blog text (15)

• News can be deceptive and hard to interpret in a directionless market.

  Blog text (27)

• I was dull, discouraged, and directionless.

  Fiction book (1998)

• I kept my scholarship, but with neither my mother nor football to anchor me, I was bereft and directionless and immediately began looking beyond the classroom for an outlet for my numerous frustrations.

  Fiction book (2002)

• Youlou's neo-colonial regime is best described as mildly corrupt, directionless in domestic policy, and deferential to France.

  Academic text (1994)

Synonyms

U

unfocused

vsdirectionless

20 4.8

Not paying attention to one thing and having no clear goal

describes lack of aim itself rather than mere distraction

A

adrift

vsdirectionless

19 5.6

Not having a clear direction or purpose

means lack of purpose or aim rather than physical drifting

A

aimless

vsdirectionless

13 3.6

Not having a clear goal or plan

focuses on lack of aim and clear direction rather than planning

R

rudderless

vsdirectionless

4 7.5

Being without clear direction or a leader

means missing aim or purpose rather than absence of leaders

P

purposeless

vsdirectionless

4 5.3

Not done for any clear reason or useful result

states lack of aim or direction but adds sense of futility

A

at loose ends

vsdirectionless

• Informal

3 7.2

Feeling unsure what to do and not busy

means lacking purpose or aim more generally than a temporary state

U

undirected

vsdirectionless

2 6.1

Not having a clear aim or plan in what you do

is about missing aim and direction rather than only lacking guidance

U

unguided

vsdirectionless

2 4.6

Done without help or direction from someone

emphasizes inner lack of aim rather than just missing help

A

afloat

vsdirectionless

1 4.2

Drifting without a clear direction, often about people or plans

focuses on lacking aim or direction not just physical floating

P

planless

vsdirectionless

1 7.2

Having no plan or clear aim

highlights lack of aim and purpose beyond mere planning absence

D

driftless

vsdirectionless

7.9

Not having clear plans or goals

emphasizes absence of aim rather than idleness or laziness

U

unoriented

vsdirectionless

7.5

Not having a clear direction, goal or plan

focuses on lack of aim or direction rather than merely position

Antonyms

D

directional

• Specialized

20 5.3

Works by picking up or sending signals from one direction

How Purposeful

driven

176 3.5

determined

468 2.5

purposeful

24 4.2

directionless

5 6.0

aimless

13 3.6

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology