pointless
Americanadjective
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without a point.
a pointless pen.
-
blunt, as an instrument.
-
without force, meaning, or relevance.
a pointless remark.
- Synonyms:
- ineffectual, futile, unproductive, meaningless
-
without a point scored, as in a game.
a pointless inning.
adjective
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without a point
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without meaning, relevance, or force
-
sport without a point scored
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of pointless
First recorded in 1300–50, pointless is from Middle English point les. See point, -less
Explanation
If something's pointless, it has no use or makes no sense. Telling yourself that it's pointless to be nervous every time you fly on a plane probably won't solve your fear of flying. Taking standardized tests in school often feels pointless, and an even more pointless exercise might be listening to your best friends argue about which 1970s rock band was the greatest. When something has a useful purpose or a good reason to exist, it has a point — and when it doesn't, it's pointless. You can also use this adjective to mean "dull" or "blunt."
Vocabulary lists containing pointless
Never Mind: Synonyms for "Meaningless"
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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.
"The playground was just an asphalt strip between two rows of prefab buildings," he said, adding meetings with education authorities proved pointless.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
Research suggests that feelings of financial nihilism — when people believe that traditional financial planning is pointless because long-term stability is out of reach — are especially common among younger Americans.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
“A half-hour of hard-driving rock led straight into mid-tempo sludge like ‘Fingerprint File,’ a pointless but not purposeless exercise whose supposed function was to prove that Jagger could play guitar competently.”
From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026
Being worried about a law that would make such a thing perfectly legal is a pointless distraction.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Like so much else in the captain’s world, the scarecrow is dedicated to a pointless task.
From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
