free-floating

American  

[free-floh-ting] / ˈfriˈfloʊ tɪŋ /

adjective

1. (of an emotional state) lacking an apparent cause, focus, or object; generalized.

   free-floating hostility.

2. (of people) uncommitted, as to a doctrine, political party, etc.; independent.

   free-floating opportunists.

3. capable of relatively free movement.

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free-floating British  

adjective

1. unattached or uncommitted, as to a cause, a party, etc

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Other Word Forms

• free-floater noun

Etymology

Origin of free-floating

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

"No doubt a State possesses legitimate power to protect children from harm, but that does not include a free-floating power to restrict the ideas to which children may be exposed," Pitman wrote.

From Barron's

These sea snails are also voracious predators themselves and feast upon free-floating hydrozoan such as Velella velella and Portuguese man o’ war.

From Los Angeles Times

Serving as an introduction to an engaging new artistic voice, the film captures a certain laconic, free-floating malaise and anxiety that are indicative of an emergent generational sensibility.

From Los Angeles Times

Free-floating DNA—any that is not contained within a cell—is then isolated from the sample and sequenced.

From Science Magazine

Instead of definition, the staging gives us a muddle of free-floating feeling.

From Los Angeles Times