adrift

[uh-drift]

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adjective, adverb

floating without control; drifting; not anchored or moored: The survivors were adrift in the rowboat for three days.

lacking aim, direction, or stability.

Nearby words

Origin of adrift

First recorded in 1615–25; a-¹ + drift

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for adrift

Adrift in senility and depression, Hitchcock is dismantling his life, putting it away.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Still, “They were my island of misfit toys,” she says, adrift.
Best Career Arc Ever: From Burlesque To Bartending|Anne Berry|September 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The reason Price of Fame ultimately becomes tiresome is our increasing awareness of how adrift the woman at its center is.
Clare Boothe Luce's Vapid Second Act|Wendy Smith|July 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Each experience—like so many others in her life—left her wounded, weary, adrift.
Maya Angelou Knew How To Inspire As A Writer, Teacher, and Great Human Being|Joshua DuBois|May 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST

On the sixth day adrift on the waves, four refugees died and their bodies were tossed overboard.
Remembering the Fall of Saigon and Vietnam’s Mass ‘Boat People’ Exodus|Katie Baker|April 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
By the time I reached the deck, all was adrift to leeward, and the mast was now held in its place by the weather backstays.
The Wreck of the Grosvenor, Volume 3 of 3|William Clark Russell
They felt safer in their boat, adrift in a tree-bordered lagoon, even if dark, mysterious foliage did overhang them.
Captain Ted|Louis Pendleton
She had thrown her lot with the narrow minds and cast him adrift.
The Tyranny of Weakness|Charles Neville Buck
Meantime the feeling that he was adrift grew upon him and his reserve of capital disappeared.
The Unknown Quantity|Henry van Dyke
The old butler wanted to turn them adrift, and Dumas consented, and repented.
Essays in Little|Andrew Lang

British Dictionary definitions for adrift

adrift

adjective, adverb (postpositive)

floating without steering or mooring; drifting

without purpose; aimless

informal off course or amissthe project went adrift

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for adrift

adrift

adv.

1620s, from a- (1) "on" + drift. Figurative use by 1680s.

adrift

adjective, adverb

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of adrift

Examples from the Web for adrift

adrift

adjective, adverb (postpositive)

adrift