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Glite Dictionary
🌬️ Moving aimlessly 🌬️ Always changing
drifting

drifting

3.7
Not staying in one place or job for long
  • adjective
  • /ˈdrɪftɪŋ/
translation icon : errante
  • After losing their jobs, many people find themselves drifting through life without any clear goals.

Examples

  • They are rudderless, they are drifting on Europe as on so many other aspects of policy.

  • And over the years, Ukraine has been drifting West.

  • I just feel like we're we're drifting from our understanding and value of this concept.

  • I just feel like we're we're drifting from our understanding and value of this concept.

  • The group has been drifting from one idea to another, unsure of what direction to take next.

  • Since the company downsized, she feels as though she is drifting between different roles without any real purpose.

Synonyms

aimless
vsdrifting
13 3.6

Not having a clear goal or plan

adds the idea of ongoing physical or role changes rather than only purposelessness
vagrant
vsdrifting
2 7.5

Moving often from one place or job to another

emphasizes continuous moving or changing across roles and situations without aim
roving
vsdrifting
2 4.1

Moving from place to place without a fixed home

includes such movement but stresses continual change across roles and situations
wandering
vsdrifting
3.7

Moving without a fixed direction or plan

is about ongoing change across places or roles often without purpose
vagabond
vsdrifting
7.8

Living from place to place without a fixed home

covers similar roaming but also changing jobs or situations rather than only homes
floating
vsdrifting
3.4

Not fixed in one place and often moving

focuses more on repeated changes of place or situation with no clear aim
shifting
vsdrifting
3.8

Changing position or direction in an unpredictable way

involves continuous moving or changing between places or roles without purpose
straying
vsdrifting
5.8

Lost after moving away from the path or home where it should be

is broader, describing continuous moving or changing rather than a navigational error

Antonyms

settled
3.3

Stable and unlikely to change

focused
3.0

Giving full attention to one thing

How Settled

stable
473 2.3
settled
2.7
drifting
3.7
mobile
81 2.7
unstable
80 4.4

Surface Forms

drifting positive

Morphology

drifting = drift (transparent) = drift + ing

A present-participial adjective formed from 'drift' describing someone or something that is moving or changing without direction, which is directly inferable from the verb.

Etymology

Drifting comes from the same root as drive, with the idea of being 'pushed along' rather than choosing a path. So, a 'drifting' person is someone who keeps moving or changing jobs and places without a clear direction.