rudderless
Americanadjective
-
(of a boat, ship, or aircraft) lacking a rudder, the device or structure used to change direction and steer.
I love the story of Columba, a priest in sixth-century Ireland, who got into a rudderless boat and let God and providence take him where he was meant to be.
-
lacking purpose, leadership, moral principles, or anything else that might provide direction; aimless.
The people are drifting and rudderless, without a vision to unify and motivate them and without a shared set of values.
Etymology
Origin of rudderless
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Some of the anecdotes you have shared reflect the character of someone who is rather rudderless right now.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 30, 2026
They’ve also taken a bigger year-over-year leap than any other team on record—transforming a rudderless, turnover-prone unit into one that defenses can’t figure out how to stop.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2025
Luis Vayas Valdivieso, Ecuador's ambassador to Britain who chaired the last three of six negotiation rounds, has announced he is stepping down, leaving the process rudderless.
From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2025
If England were ruthless West Indies were rudderless as this match marked the end of a pretty chastening tour.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2025
At last his wife was rudderless, trying to steer some sort of course on a sea of confusion, asking him for directions.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
