adrift

[ uh-drift ]

/ əˈdrɪft /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR adrift ON THESAURUS.COM

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

adrianople red, adrianopolis, adriatic, adriatic sea, adrienne, adrift, adrogué, adroit, ads, adscititious, adscript

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

/ (əˈdrɪft) /

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

adrift

adjective, adverb

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of adrift

Examples from the Web for adrift

British Dictionary definitions for adrift

adrift

adjective, adverb (postpositive)