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.

Elisabeth is whisper thin, but something other than vanity and social mores is eating away at her — boredom, despair, a sense of purposelessness — sending uneasy ripples through her life.

From New York Times • Dec. 22, 2022

The chaos that ensued from the fall of the Soviet Union only exacerbated the situation of widespread and untreated post-traumatic stress and an overall sense of purposelessness experienced by thousands of ex-soldiers.

From Washington Post • Dec. 10, 2022

While religious participation has decreased, depression and anxiety, fueled by a sensation of purposelessness and lack of meaning, are on the rise.

From Washington Post • May 23, 2022

The pain at the center of this study of human purposelessness can be hard to take for someone unprepared for the bright glare of Beckett’s unbounded bleakness.

From New York Times • Nov. 5, 2018

As he looked out at the rows of men welcoming him, he felt the old shame of poverty, failure, and purposelessness melt away.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson